Des Moines's weather extremes

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Des Moines has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do. This station's daily record ended in 2021, so these are historical extremes from that period, not records updated to today.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–2021), from the Ankeny station 15 km away. Updated through April 2021 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days Des Moines has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day

106°F Aug 16, 1983

That is about 22°F hotter than a normal August afternoon in Des Moines (typical high near 84°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 106°F Aug 16, 1983

2 105°F Jul 20, 2011

3 105°F Aug 2, 2011

❄️ Coldest night

-54°F Nov 16, 1999

About 83°F colder than a normal November night in Des Moines (typical low near 29°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -54°F Nov 16, 1999

2 -40°F Nov 21, 1999

3 -37°F Nov 20, 1999

🌧️ Most rain in one day

6.00 in Mar 2, 2002

More rain in a single day than Des Moines usually gets in the whole month of March (typical March total about 2.0 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 6.00 in Mar 2, 2002

2 4.59 in Aug 28, 1977

3 4.50 in Apr 30, 1986

⛄ Most snow in one day

12.0 in Mar 16, 2004

Close to a whole typical March's snow in one day (Des Moines averages about 4 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 12.0 in Mar 16, 2004

2 11.5 in Dec 1, 1985

3 11.0 in Jan 4, 1971

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Des Moines's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — August's 106°F is about 22°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, Des Moines's warmest days reach the mid-80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the low 10s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 106°F and as low as −54°F. A single day has delivered over 6 inches of rain or close to 12 inches of snow. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.

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 15 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →

← Des Moines city detail