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Weather extremes

How extreme does Dubuque's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Dubuque has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–present), from the Dubuque L&D 11 station 5 km away. Updated through May 2026 — 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 Dubuque has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day
108°F Jul 14, 1995

That is about 24°F hotter than a normal July afternoon in Dubuque (typical high near 85°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 108°F Jul 14, 1995
2 104°F Aug 17, 1988
3 103°F Aug 16, 1988
❄️ Coldest night
-37°F Jan 17, 2009

About 47°F colder than a normal January night in Dubuque (typical low near 10°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -37°F Jan 17, 2009
2 -36°F Jan 16, 2009
3 -32°F Feb 4, 1996
🌧️ Most rain in one day
8.80 in Jul 28, 2011

More rain in a single day than Dubuque usually gets in the whole month of July (typical July total about 5.3 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 8.80 in Jul 28, 2011
2 7.18 in Jul 23, 2010
3 5.27 in Aug 2, 1972
Most snow in one day
13.0 in Jan 27, 1996

Close to a whole typical January's snow in one day (Dubuque averages about 12 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 13.0 in Jan 27, 1996
2 12.0 in Mar 13, 1991
3 12.0 in Dec 7, 1994

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.

-50°-30°-10°10°30°50°70°90°110°130° all-time high 108°F JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Dubuque's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — July's 108°F is about 24°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, Dubuque'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 108°F and as low as −37°F. A single day has delivered over 9 inches of rain or close to 13 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 Dubuque L&d 11 (NOAA GHCN station USC00132364), about 5 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →