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Ames, Iowa climate
Dfa Hot-summer humid continental
Ames has a strongly seasonal cool-temperate climate (Hot-summer humid continental, Köppen Dfa). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 86°F, while the coldest is January averaging around 12°F at night. Precipitation totals about 37 inches a year and is strongly seasonal — June alone averages 5.4 inches while January barely receives 0.97 inches. Winters bring significant snowfall (25 inches of snow per year on average).
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation split into rain and snow · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresClear vs cloudy days
Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day countsAmes climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 30 | 34 | 47 | 61 | 72 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 64 | 48 | 35 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 21 | 25 | 37 | 50 | 61 | 71 | 75 | 73 | 65 | 52 | 38 | 26 |
| Avg low (°F) | 12 | 16 | 27 | 38 | 50 | 61 | 65 | 62 | 53 | 41 | 29 | 18 |
| Precipitation (in) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
| Snowfall (in) | 6.2 | 8.0 | 3.7 | 0.7 | — | — | — | — | — | 0.6 | 1.0 | 4.5 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 30 | 34 | 47 | 61 | 72 | 82 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 21 | 25 | 37 | 50 | 61 | 71 |
| Avg low (°F) | 12 | 16 | 27 | 38 | 50 | 61 |
| Precipitation (in) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 5.4 |
| Snowfall (in) | 6.2 | 8.0 | 3.7 | 0.7 | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 86 | 84 | 77 | 64 | 48 | 35 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 75 | 73 | 65 | 52 | 38 | 26 |
| Avg low (°F) | 65 | 62 | 53 | 41 | 29 | 18 |
| Precipitation (in) | 4.2 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
| Snowfall (in) | — | — | — | 0.6 | 1.0 | 4.5 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
| Days with high ≥ 90°F (days) | — | — | — | 0.1 | 0.8 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0.1 | — | — |
| Days with low ≤ 32°F (days) | 27 | 25 | 22 | 9 | 0.9 | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 8 | 20 | 27 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 1 in (days) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 0.2 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
| Days with high ≥ 90°F (days) | — | — | — | 0.1 | 0.8 | 4 |
| Days with low ≤ 32°F (days) | 27 | 25 | 22 | 9 | 0.9 | — |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 1 in (days) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
| Days with high ≥ 90°F (days) | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0.1 | — | — |
| Days with low ≤ 32°F (days) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 8 | 20 | 27 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 1 in (days) | — | — | — | 0.2 | 0.6 | 2 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 58 | 49 | 50 | 47 | 56 | 61 | 63 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 5 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 84 | 81 | 75 | 72 | 74 | 75 | 71 | 69 | 68 | 71 | 78 | 84 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 6.4 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 58 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 12 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 84 | 81 | 75 | 72 | 74 | 75 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 7.4 | 6.2 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 49 | 50 | 47 | 56 | 61 | 63 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 10 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 5 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 9 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 71 | 69 | 68 | 71 | 78 | 84 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 5.5 | 5.3 | 6.4 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Ankeny (NOAA GHCN station USC00130241), about 34 km from the city centre.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.