Iowa Weather: What to Expect Iowa fully experiences all four seasons. The summers are hot and humid, with an average high of 84° in July. Lots of sunshine mixed with adequate rainfall creates a lush green landscape in the summer along with beautiful blue skies and as one visitor put it, “perfect clouds.” Iowans prize summers for outdoor recreation and entertaining opportunities. Winters are cold enough to produce a blanket of snow for several weeks each winter. Sledding, snowmobiling, or building snowmen are common winter pass times. The average high in January is 27°. Spring and fall are mild and picturesque, although temperatures can swing widely within a day or two while the seasons are changing. Fall is usually dry and the fields will turn brown before harvesting. Iowa’s severe weather includes blizzards, thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes. Snow and ice can cause traffic slowdowns, but is usually cleared quickly and road crews apply salt to minimize icy conditions on the roadways. It is not uncommon for school to be cancelled due to blizzards a few times each year. Tornados often worry newcomers, but tornado damage affects only a very small percentage of Iowans annually. Communities sound sirens to give residents advanced warning to take cover, so loss of life or property is rare- although you will likely see damage reported on the news from somewhere in the state every year. The most common time for tornadoes is spring and summer late afternoons and early evenings, although they can occur at other times. Thunderstorms occasionally produce wind or hail damage, but also create majestic white thunderheads topping 25,000 feet, visible from halfway across the state during the summer.
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