Monthly Climate
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Best time to visit Des Moines

September is the best time to visit Des Moines for general sightseeing, with average highs of 24 °C and about 8 wet days.

It depends what you are going for

One month rarely wins on everything. These are the best months on each measure taken on its own.

If you want Best month On that measure
Sightseeing and walking September comfort 89/100
The least cloud September 43 % average cloud cover
The least rain January 30 mm
Warmth July 29 °C
Cooler weather January -0.7 °C

Ranked by comfort

# Month Comfort / 100 Avg high Wet days
1 September 89 24 °C 8
2 May 81 22 °C 14
3 October 77 17 °C 8
4 June 76 27 °C 11
5 August 76 28 °C 9
6 July 72 29 °C 9
7 April 66 16 °C 11
8 November 44 9.1 °C 7
9 March 40 9.6 °C 9
10 December 32 1.9 °C 6
11 January 31 -0.7 °C 6
12 February 31 2.0 °C 7

When to think twice

February scores lowest with about 7 wet days and highs near 2.0 °C. That does not make it a bad month — it depends entirely on what you are travelling for. The numbers are all here; the judgement is yours.

The full year

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 %

Data sources and method

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

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: comfort score, beach score, season boundaries. 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.