Weather in Des Moines

14-day forecast · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 6:56 pm (PDT)

Now · light drizzle 47 °F

Feels like: 43 °F
Low / high: 45 / 51 °F
Rain: 92% · 0.26 in
Wind: 6 mph S

↗ 30.00 inHg · rising

Today in Des Moines: light rain, 45 °F to 51 °F, with a 92% chance of rain (0.26 in) and a light breeze from the south (6 mph). Tomorrow, light snow, 42 °F to 53 °F and a 25% chance of rain. The warmest day of the week is Tuesday 3, at 57 °F.

Measured now at the airport

Seattle-Tacoma (KSEA), 3.0 mi away · 1 h 3 min ago

Visibility9.9 mi or more

WeatherNothing to note

Temperature48 °F

Wind10 mph from the south-southeast

It's what the airport's weather station measured, not a forecast: on the coast, wind and fog can be different. Airports report every 30 or 60 minutes.

Airport METAR report, via NOAA's Aviation Weather Center (aviationweather.gov). Sources and licenses

Temperatures for the next 14 days

51° 45°
Today
53° 42°
Thu 29
53° 40°
Fri 30
54° 38°
Sat 31
55° 40°
Sun 1
55° 40°
Mon 2
57° 42°
Tue 3
57° 41°
Wed 4
56° 43°
Thu 5
57° 44°
Fri 6
57° 45°
Sat 7
59° 47°
Sun 8
56° 48°
Mon 9
65° 55°
Tue 10

Day by day

Day	Sky	Low / high	Rain	Max wind	High tides	Model
Today · 28	Light rain	45 / 51 °F	92% · 0.26 in	11 mph S	7:48 am · 6:08 pm	HRRR
Thu 29	Light snow	42 / 53 °F	25% · 0.08 in	8 mph S	8:44 am · 6:51 pm	HRRR + NBM
Fri 30	Light rain	40 / 53 °F	17%	3 mph SSE	9:46 am · 7:43 pm	NBM
Sat 31	Overcast	38 / 54 °F	7%	4 mph NE	10:52 am · 8:49 pm	NBM
Sun 1	Overcast	40 / 55 °F	3%	3 mph SSE	10:59 am · 9:15 pm	NBM
Mon 2	Overcast	40 / 55 °F	11%	3 mph NE	11:59 am · 10:56 pm	NBM
Tue 3	Overcast	42 / 57 °F	9%	4 mph NE	12:48 pm	NBM
Wed 4	Mainly clear	41 / 57 °F	11%	4 mph ENE	12:37 am · 1:27 pm	NBM
Thu 5	Drizzle	43 / 56 °F	17%	2 mph SSE	2:02 am · 1:59 pm	NBM
Fri 6	Drizzle	44 / 57 °F	30% · 0.11 in	3 mph SSE	3:12 am · 2:27 pm	NBM
Sat 7	Rain	45 / 57 °F	30% · 0.26 in	4 mph S	4:10 am · 2:53 pm	NBM
Sun 8	Rain	47 / 59 °F	37% · 0.13 in	5 mph S	5:00 am · 3:18 pm	NBM + ECMWF
Mon 9	Light rain	48 / 56 °F	32% · 0.47 in	13 mph ESE	5:45 am · 3:45 pm	ECMWF
Tue 10	Overcast	55 / 65 °F	43%	5 mph SE	6:25 am · 4:15 pm	ECMWF

Each hour comes from the best model for this spot: HRRR until Thursday 29 1:00 pm; then NBM until Sunday 8 11:00 am; then ECMWF until Thursday 12 7:00 am; then GFS.

Each day comes from the best model covering this spot: regional ones first (HRRR and NBM in the U.S., AROME, ICON-EU), then ECMWF; day 16, NOAA GFS. Waves: Météo-France up to day 10, then ECMWF WAM, coarser and further offshore. High tides: our own tide calculation.

Today, every 3 hours

Time	12:00 am	3:00 am	6:00 am	9:00 am	12:00 pm	3:00 pm	6:00 pm	9:00 pm
Sky	Light rain	Light drizzle	Mainly clear	Light drizzle	Light drizzle	Light drizzle	Light drizzle	Clear
Temperature	48°	48°	47°	47°	51°	51°	48°	47°
Chance of rain	92%	24%	26%	27%	30%	30%	25%	8%
Rain	0.00 in	0.00 in	0.00 in	0.00 in	0.00 in	0.00 in	0.00 in	0.14 in
Wind (mph)	8 SSE	11 S	7 SSW	8 S	9 SSW	7 S	7 S	8 WSW
Humidity	88%	92%	89%	91%	82%	81%	85%	91%
UV	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
Model	HRRR	HRRR	HRRR	HRRR	HRRR	HRRR	HRRR	HRRR

Do the models agree?

Medium confidence

They broadly agree, but not quite on rain on Friday 30: take it with some caution.

What 6 forecast models say for the next few days. The closer they are, the more reliable the forecast.

HighRainWind

Do the models agree? · High
High (°F)	Today	Thu 29	Fri 30	Sat 31	Sun 1	Mon 2	Tue 3
ECMWF	52°	53°	52°	52°	52°	52°	54°
AIFS	51°	51°	50°	51°	53°	54°	56°
GFS	54°	56°	55°	55°	57°	55°	55°
ICON	52°	56°	49°	51°	54°	54°	58°
HRRR	51°	52°	—	—	—	—	—
NBM	54°	53°	53°	54°	55°	55°	57°
Confidence	high	high	high	high	high	high	high

Do the models agree? · Rain
Rain	Today	Thu 29	Fri 30	Sat 31	Sun 1	Mon 2	Tue 3
ECMWF	0.27 in	0.65 in	0.40 in	0	0	0	0
AIFS	0.47 in	0.17 in	0.19 in	0.02 in	0.02 in	0.00 in	0.04 in
GFS	0.59 in	0.02 in	0.37 in	0	0	0	0
ICON	0.32 in	0.09 in	0.21 in	0	0	0	0
HRRR	0.26 in	0.06 in	—	—	—	—	—
NBM	0.31 in	0.08 in	0	0	0	0	0
Confidence	high	high	medium	high	high	high	high

Do the models agree? · Wind
Wind (mph)	Today	Thu 29	Fri 30	Sat 31	Sun 1	Mon 2	Tue 3
ECMWF	1327	613	510	614	315	213	413
AIFS	10	7	2	5	2	2	2
GFS	1428	59	913	37	47	47	47
ICON	1027	420	411	514	36	411	411
HRRR	1132	819	—	—	—	—	—
NBM	1522	611	33	45	33	34	46
Confidence	high	high	high	high	high	high	high

Chance of rain from the ensemble models

Model	Today	Thu 29	Fri 30	Sat 31	Sun 1	Mon 2	Tue 3
ECMWF (51 scenarios)	100%	89%	64%	8%	3%	6%	6%
GFS (GEFS, 31 scenarios)	100%	29%	35%	21%	10%	4%	10%
NBM (NOAA)	92%	25%	17%	7%	3%	11%	9%
Thunderstorm (NBM)	2%	1%	3%	0%	0%	0%	0%

Each model's day runs midnight to midnight local time; models that reach fewer days are left blank. Rain: daily total. Wind: the day's highest average wind and, in small type, the strongest gust. Highlighted: values that stand out from the rest. The chance of rain comes from many runs of the same model with slightly different starting data.

Outlook

How the coming weeks and months compare with what is normal for the time of year. It is a trend, not a day-by-day forecast.

Next few weeks, compared with normal: a bit warmer and normal rain.

Next 6 weeks

When	TemperatureTemp.	Rain	Typical high / low
Nov 2 – Nov 8Nov 2–Nov 8	A bit below −1.1 °F	A bit below −48%	—
Nov 9 – Nov 15Nov 9–Nov 15	Above +3.4 °F	A bit above +28%	55° / 45°
Nov 16 – Nov 22Nov 16–Nov 22	A bit above +2.3 °F	Normal	52° / 44°
Nov 23 – Nov 29Nov 23–Nov 29	A bit above +2.2 °F	Normal	50° / 42°
Nov 30 – Dec 6Nov 30–Dec 6	A bit above +1.8 °F	Normal	49° / 40°

Coming months

When	TemperatureTemp.	Rain
November	A bit above +1.3 °F	Normal
December	Above +2.9 °F	Normal
January	Above +3.2 °F	Normal
February	A bit above +2.3 °F	Normal
March	Above +3.4 °F	Normal

Weeks: ECMWF 46-day (average of its scenarios), against the normal of the last 20 years for those dates. Months: ECMWF SEAS5. Rain: total against normal. The further ahead, the closer it gets to normal and the less detail it can give.

Des Moines climate by monthClimate by month

Normal weather for each month (1991–2020 averages)

The best time to visit Des Moines is from July to August: highs of 76 °F, about 4 rainy days a month and 8 hours of sunshine a day.

47° 35°

JanJ
49° 36°

FebF
53° 37°

MarM
58° 41°

AprA
65° 46°

MayM
69° 50°

JunJ
75° 53°

JulJ
76° 53°

AugA
70° 50°

SepS
60° 44°

OctO
51° 39°

NovN
46° 35°

DecD

Highs and lows
Monthly rainfall
Best time

Month	High	Low	Rain	Rainy daysDays	Sun (h/day)
JanuaryJan	47°	35°	5.31 in	17	1.6
FebruaryFeb	49°	36°	3.62 in	13	3.7
MarchMar	53°	37°	4.15 in	16	3.8
AprilApr	58°	41°	2.84 in	14	5.6
MayMay	65°	46°	1.65 in	10	6.9
JuneJun	69°	50°	1.42 in	8	7.0
JulyJul	75°	53°	0.67 in	4	8.7
AugustAug	76°	53°	0.98 in	4	7.9
SeptemberSep	70°	50°	1.49 in	7	6.3
OctoberOct	60°	44°	3.57 in	13	2.9
NovemberNov	51°	39°	5.73 in	18	1.7
DecemberDec	46°	35°	5.63 in	17	1.1

Days: rainy days in the month. Sun: hours a day.

A normal year brings 37.06 in of rain on about 138 days and about 1,750 hours of sunshine.

1991–2020 averages. Highs, lows and rainfall: TerraClimate; rainy days (0.04 in or more): NASA POWER (MERRA-2); sunshine hours: estimated from solar radiation; water: NOAA OISST; waves (average height): ERA5, 2011–2020. Normals are not a forecast: any given year can turn out very different. Sources and licenses

Temperature

Now47 °Ffeels like 43 °F

Tomorrow42 / 53 °F

It's 47 °F now (feels like 43 °F). Today, 45 °F to 51 °F; tomorrow, 42 °F to 53 °F.

Chance of rain

Today 92% 0.26 in
Thu 29 25% 0.08 in
Fri 30 17%
Sat 31 7%
Sun 1 3%
Mon 2 11%
Tue 3 9%

Today the chance of rain reaches 92%, with 0.26 in in total. The next day with likely rain is Thursday 29: 25% and 0.08 in.

Recent rain: last 24 hours, 0.13 in; last 3 days, 0.67 in; last 7 days, 0.96 in.

Humidity and dew point

Humidity89%

Dew point44 °F

Humidity is 89% now and the dew point is 44 °F.

The dew point is the temperature at which the air becomes saturated: the higher it is, the heavier the air feels.

Visibility and fog

Now9.0 migood

Clouds13%

Visibility is good now (9.0 mi). No fog expected today.

UV index

Now0

Today's peak1low

Thu 29: 2 · Fri 30: 1 · Sat 31: 1

Index	Level	What to do
0–2	low	No special protection needed.
3–5	moderate	Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen around midday.
6–7	high	Sunscreen, hat and shade between 12 and 4 pm.
8–10	very high	Avoid the midday sun; reflection off the water adds to it.
11+	extreme	Avoid the sun between 11 am and 5 pm; protect yourself even if it is cloudy.

Reflection off water and sand adds radiation: protect yourself more on a boat or at the beach.

Barometric pressure

↗ Rising · now Anglers say fish bite less for a while
→ Steady Anglers expect normal activity
↘ Falling Anglers say fish feed more before the change

29.8029.9030.00 29.88

Rising now (+0.04 inHg in 3 hours). Over the next 48 hours: −0.04 inHg. Rising pressure: anglers say fish bite less for a while. Fast changes, either way, tend to affect fishing.

Air and pollen

Air qualityGood · 34

Saharan dustNo

Previous days

The weather over the last 30 days, as the models analyzed it. Tap a day to see it hour by hour.

Day	Sky	Low / high	Rain	Max wind
Tue 27	Light rain	47 / 55 °F	0.31 in	13 mph SSW
Mon 26	Light rain	46 / 57 °F	0.45 in	6 mph ESE
Sun 25	Light rain	47 / 58 °F	0.28 in	6 mph ESE
Sat 24	Light drizzle	40 / 55 °F	0.01 in	3 mph SSE
Fri 23	Overcast	44 / 56 °F	0	6 mph N
Thu 22	Overcast	46 / 58 °F	0	9 mph N
Wed 21	Overcast	42 / 64 °F	0	4 mph NNE

Show all 30 days

Day	Sky	Low / high	Rain	Max wind
Tue 20	Overcast	47 / 60 °F	0	8 mph NNE
Mon 19	Overcast	48 / 61 °F	0	6 mph NNE
Sun 18	Overcast	45 / 58 °F	0	8 mph NNE
Sat 17	Light drizzle	51 / 62 °F	0.08 in	13 mph SE
Fri 16	Overcast	53 / 75 °F	0	9 mph S
Thu 15	Overcast	49 / 66 °F	0	6 mph N
Wed 14	Overcast	54 / 66 °F	0	7 mph SSE
Tue 13	Overcast	46 / 63 °F	0	5 mph S
Mon 12	Overcast	41 / 59 °F	0	4 mph NE
Sun 11	Overcast	43 / 58 °F	0	10 mph NNE
Sat 10	Light drizzle	47 / 56 °F	0.15 in	7 mph ENE
Fri 9	Drizzle	51 / 60 °F	0.18 in	14 mph SSE
Thu 8	Overcast	52 / 66 °F	0	5 mph N
Wed 7	Overcast	53 / 65 °F	0	6 mph N
Tue 6	Overcast	54 / 62 °F	0	6 mph N
Mon 5	Overcast	54 / 67 °F	0	4 mph N
Sun 4	Overcast	53 / 69 °F	0	4 mph N
Sat 3	Overcast	56 / 66 °F	0	6 mph N
Fri 2	Overcast	55 / 70 °F	0	6 mph SW
Thu 1	Overcast	51 / 67 °F	0	4 mph N
Wed 30	Overcast	53 / 62 °F	0	7 mph NNE
Tue 29	Drizzle	56 / 62 °F	0.21 in	14 mph SSW
Mon 28	Overcast	45 / 65 °F	0	11 mph SSW

These are the models at the start of each day (ECMWF and GFS; waves from Météo-France), not readings from a weather station: there can be differences at specific spots.

Questions about the weather in Des MoinesQuestions

What's the weather like today in Des Moines?

Light rain, from 45 °F to 51 °F, with a light breeze from the south (6 mph) and a 92% chance of rain.

Will it rain tomorrow in Des Moines?

On Thursday 29 the chance of rain is 25% (0.08 in): light snow.

How warm will it be this week?

Between a low of 38 °F and a high of 57 °F; the warmest day, Tuesday 3.

What's the UV index today?

It reaches 1 (low). No special protection needed.

Is the pressure rising or falling?

It's 30.00 inHg and rising: +0.06 inHg over the last 24 hours.

When is the best time to visit Des Moines?

The best time to visit Des Moines is from July to August: highs of 76 °F, about 4 rainy days a month and 8 hours of sunshine a day.

What is the weather like in Des Moines in October?

In October, Des Moines normally sees highs of 60 °F and lows of 44 °F, with about 13 rainy days (3.57 in for the month) and 3 hours of sunshine a day. These are 1991–2020 averages.

What are the warmest and wettest months in Des Moines?

The warmest is August, with average highs of 76 °F, and the coldest December, with lows of 35 °F. The wettest is November (5.73 in) and the driest, July.

More about Des Moines today

Weather near Des Moines

Only places with a different forecast: spots a few miles apart share the same model cell and wouldn't add anything.

Learn more

Weather: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0, with the best model for each spot and lead time (NOAA HRRR and NBM in the U.S., Météo-France AROME, DWD ICON-EU, ECMWF IFS and NOAA GFS); ECMWF grid point 7.6 mi away. The comparison also uses ICON (DWD), AIFS (ECMWF) and ARPEGE (Météo-France). Outlook: ECMWF 46-day and SEAS5. Chance of rain from ensemble models (ECMWF, GEFS and NBM). UV, air quality and pollen: CAMS (Copernicus).

Forecast from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0) with models from ECMWF, NOAA, Météo-France, DWD, Copernicus Marine and CAMS. Updated at 6:56 pm (local time).

Spotted a mistake? Tell us · Where the weather and sea data come from