Des Moines climate

Name: Des Moines
Address: US

Des Moines is warmest in July, with average highs of 29 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -9.5 °C. May is the wettest month (135 mm) and January the driest (30 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Des Moines averages 944 mm of rain, 102 days above 25 °C and 117 days below freezing.

United States · 266 m elevation · population 214,133 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month July 29 °C
Coldest month January -9.5 °C
Driest month January 30 mm
Wettest month May 135 mm
Least cloud September 43 % cloud
Hottest on record July 39 °C
Coldest on record February -36 °C

What to expectDes Moines through the year

Des Moines has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from -0.7 °C in January to 29 °C in July, a swing of 30 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 102 days a year reach 25 °C, 32 of them reach 30 °C, 117 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 39 °C, in July.

Rain is strongly seasonal. May averages 135 mm against 30 mm in January — 4.5 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	-0.7 °C	30 mm	62 %
February	2.0 °C	40 mm	61 %
March	9.6 °C	66 mm	60 %
April	16.4 °C	108 mm	61 %
May	21.9 °C	135 mm	60 %
June	27.0 °C	121 mm	55 %
July	29.2 °C	93 mm	47 %
August	28.2 °C	97 mm	47 %
September	24.4 °C	88 mm	43 %
October	17.2 °C	72 mm	49 %
November	9.1 °C	53 mm	56 %
December	1.9 °C	42 mm	62 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	-0.7 °C	-9.5 °C	-5.7 °C	15.1 °C	-33.3 °C	0	0	29
February	2.0 °C	-7.5 °C	-3.5 °C	20.2 °C	-35.9 °C	0	0	24
March	9.6 °C	-1.1 °C	3.5 °C	26.5 °C	-26.9 °C	0	0	18
April	16.4 °C	5.5 °C	10.3 °C	28.7 °C	-10.5 °C	2	0	5
May	21.9 °C	11.9 °C	16.5 °C	34.1 °C	-0.3 °C	8	1	0
June	27.0 °C	17.4 °C	22.0 °C	36.9 °C	4.8 °C	21	6	0
July	29.2 °C	19.8 °C	24.3 °C	38.6 °C	11.1 °C	28	13	0
August	28.2 °C	18.8 °C	23.2 °C	36.7 °C	8.4 °C	26	9	0
September	24.4 °C	14.7 °C	19.1 °C	35.9 °C	1.3 °C	14	3	0
October	17.2 °C	8.0 °C	12.0 °C	30.5 °C	-7.2 °C	3	0	2
November	9.1 °C	0.7 °C	4.2 °C	24.7 °C	-21.1 °C	0	0	14
December	1.9 °C	-6.0 °C	-2.6 °C	20.8 °C	-29.7 °C	0	0	26

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	30 mm	6	9.5 h/day	62 %	73 %	22 km/h
February	40 mm	7	11 h/day	61 %	72 %	22 km/h
March	66 mm	9	12 h/day	60 %	68 %	23 km/h
April	108 mm	11	13 h/day	61 %	66 %	24 km/h
May	135 mm	14	15 h/day	60 %	69 %	22 km/h
June	121 mm	11	15 h/day	55 %	71 %	20 km/h
July	93 mm	9	15 h/day	47 %	71 %	18 km/h
August	97 mm	9	14 h/day	47 %	72 %	17 km/h
September	88 mm	8	13 h/day	43 %	68 %	20 km/h
October	72 mm	8	11 h/day	49 %	66 %	22 km/h
November	53 mm	7	9.9 h/day	56 %	69 %	22 km/h
December	42 mm	6	9.2 h/day	62 %	74 %	21 km/h

How Des Moines compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Des Moines	29 °C	-9.5 °C	944 mm	102
Omaha · United States	30 °C	-8.7 °C	893 mm	112
Lincoln · United States	31 °C	-7.6 °C	811 mm	120
Kansas City · United States	31 °C	-5.1 °C	1,043 mm	127

Where Des Moines ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in North America in December	23rdof 50	1.9 °C
The coolest places in North America in January	26thof 50	-0.7 °C
The coolest places in North America in February	33rdof 50	2.0 °C
The coolest places in North America in November	40thof 50	9.1 °C
Places with the best weather in North America in September	43rdof 50	89/100
The coolest places in North America in March	48thof 50	9.6 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Des Moines.

QuestionsCommon questions about Des Moines’s climate

When is the best time to visit Des Moines?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. June, August, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and January the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Des Moines get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 29 °C. About 32 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 39 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average -9.5 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 117 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Des Moines?

May, averaging 135 mm over 14 days with rain. The driest month is January with 30 mm. The year as a whole averages 944 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Des Moines rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.