Climate averages 1991–2020
Iowa City weather
by month.
See how the year changes. July has the highest average daily maximum; January has the lowest average monthly precipitation.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
Across the year Iowa City averages a daytime high of 14.8°C and a nighttime low of 5.5°C, with about 988 mm of precipitation on roughly 110 days. July is the warmest month (average high 28.2°C) and January the coolest (-1.5°C). June is the wettest month with 128 mm; January is the driest with 39 mm.
The annual picture
A year in Iowa City
Monthly precipitation
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Iowa City climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -1.5°C-10.3°C | -10.3°C | 39 | 7.1 | 9.510 h |
| February | 1.1°C-8.2°C | -8.2°C | 46 | 6.5 | 10.611 h |
| March | 8.7°C-1.7°C | -1.7°C | 69 | 9.1 | 11.912 h |
| April | 15.5°C4.9°C | 4.9°C | 111 | 11.8 | 13.313 h |
| May | 21.4°C11.4°C | 11.4°C | 123 | 13.4 | 14.515 h |
| June | 26.3°C17.0°C | 17.0°C | 128 | 11.7 | 15.115 h |
| July | 28.2°C19.3°C | 19.3°C | 95 | 9.5 | 14.915 h |
| August | 27.4°C18.4°C | 18.4°C | 96 | 9.1 | 13.914 h |
| September | 23.7°C14.2°C | 14.2°C | 99 | 8.1 | 12.513 h |
| October | 16.6°C7.6°C | 7.6°C | 74 | 8.6 | 11.111 h |
| November | 8.7°C0.3°C | 0.3°C | 59 | 7.6 | 9.910 h |
| December | 1.4°C-6.3°C | -6.3°C | 49 | 6.9 | 9.29 h |
Precipitation (rain or snow, as water) is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A wet day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
Nearby cities
- Cedar RapidsUnited States · 40 kmHigh 14.2°C · Low 4.9°C · 986 mm precipitation a year
- DavenportUnited States · 81 kmHigh 15.1°C · Low 6.3°C · 963 mm precipitation a year
- Des MoinesUnited States · 173 kmHigh 15.0°C · Low 5.7°C · 945 mm precipitation a year
- Peoria (Illinois), United StatesUnited States · 195 kmHigh 15.9°C · Low 7.1°C · 979 mm rain a year
- RockfordUnited States · 213 kmHigh 14.0°C · Low 5.1°C · 920 mm precipitation a year
- MadisonUnited States · 235 kmHigh 13.1°C · Low 4.1°C · 894 mm precipitation a year
- Bloomington (Illinois), United StatesUnited States · 250 kmHigh 15.8°C · Low 6.7°C · 1,008 mm rain a year
- Springfield (Illinois), United StatesUnited States · 261 kmHigh 16.8°C · Low 7.6°C · 1,015 mm rain a year
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsWhat do the high and low temperatures mean?
We average the daily maximum and daily minimum for each calendar month over 1991–2020. They are not record extremes, a forecast range or temperatures at a fixed time of day.
How is a rain day counted?
A local calendar day (standard time, UTC-6, no daylight saving) with at least 1 mm of total precipitation counts as one rain day. We count these for each year and month, then average across 30 years. The average does not predict which days will be wet.
Where do the numbers come from?
ERA5-Land (temperature) and ERA5 (precipitation) reanalysis from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, read from the Open-Meteo open-data archive. Temperature comes from the 0.1° model cell at 41.70°, -91.50° (5 km from the city centre), adjusted up by 0.2°C for the difference between the city's elevation (204 m) and the cell's (228 m). Rain comes from the 0.25° cell at 41.75°, -91.50°. These are model estimates, not weather-station readings; coast, hills and city streets can differ.
Does this page show sunshine, humidity or sea temperature?
No. The data used here contain air temperature and precipitation only. Daylight hours are calculated from the city's latitude (sunrise to sunset), not measured sunshine.