Dubuque climate — normals and trends
Dubuque (United States) has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 8.9 °C and it receives 901 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (23.0 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-7.2 °C). Rainfall peaks in June.
Dubuque averages 129 frost days, 21 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 111 rainy days per year.
Dubuque has warmed by +1.9 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.22 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 139 to 119 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 37.5 °C (on 23 August 2023) and the coldest -34.6 °C (on 3 February 1996).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
DubuqueIowa
- coords
- 42.50°, -90.66°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
8.9°C
Average daily high
13.5°C
Average daily low
4.5°C
Annual rainfall
901mm
Sunshine / day
8.7h
Mean relative humidity
71%
Average peak wind
18.2km/h
Seasonal range
30.2°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
129 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
21 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
111 d/yr
Annual snowfall
78.6 cm
Average feels-like high
11.5 °C
Average feels-like low
1.5 °C
Average peak gust
38.2 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
23 d/yr
Solar radiation
14.7 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.9 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.33 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
37.5 °C
23 August 2023
Coldest day
-34.6 °C
3 February 1996
Wettest day
129 mm
10 September 1986
Windiest day
52.4 km/h
5 May 1950
Strongest gust
110.5 km/h
15 December 2021
Hottest feels-like
43.1 °C
10 July 1966
Coldest feels-like
-39.7 °C
3 February 1996
Snowiest day
29.0 cm
5 March 1959
Sunniest day
14.7 h
26 June 2012
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -2.4 °C | +0.8 °C | 4 mm | -34 mm |
| Feb | -1.2 °C | -0.7 °C | 20 mm | -16 mm |
| Mar | 11.9 °C | +5.8 °C | 89 mm | +19 mm |
| Apr | 15.2 °C | +1.1 °C | 81 mm | -18 mm |
| May | 21.0 °C | +0.5 °C | 74 mm | -34 mm |
| Jun | 27.6 °C | +1.8 °C | 126 mm | +17 mm |
| Jul | 28.1 °C | +0.3 °C | 189 mm | +96 mm |
| Aug | 26.4 °C | -0.3 °C | 78 mm | -15 mm |
| Sep | 25.4 °C | +2.8 °C | 36 mm | -51 mm |
| Oct | 18.5 °C | +2.6 °C | 44 mm | -22 mm |
| Nov | 8.5 °C | +1.6 °C | 45 mm | -12 mm |
| Dec | -1.2 °C | -0.8 °C | 36 mm | -9 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Dubuque?
Dubuque has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 8.9 °C and it receives 901 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Dubuque?
The hottest day measured in Dubuque between 1940 and 2025 was 23 August 2023, reaching 37.5 °C.
What is the coldest day in Dubuque?
The coldest day measured in Dubuque between 1940 and 2025 was 3 February 1996, at -34.6 °C.
Does it snow in Dubuque?
Yes. Dubuque gets on average 78.6 cm of snow per year and has around 129 frost days.
Has the climate of Dubuque warmed?
Yes: Dubuque warmed by +1.9 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Dubuque?
The wettest day measured in Dubuque between 1940 and 2025 was 10 September 1986, with 129 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Dubuque?
The windiest day measured in Dubuque between 1940 and 2025 was 5 May 1950, with winds reaching 52.4 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Dubuque?
The warmest month in Dubuque is July (23.0 °C on average); the coldest is January (-7.2 °C).
How much does it rain in Dubuque?
Dubuque receives on average 901 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 111 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Dubuque?
Dubuque gets on average 8.7 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,175 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Dubuque?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Dubuque between 1940 and 2025 was 5 March 1959, with 29.0 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Dubuque?
Yes: Dubuque has on average 23 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Dubuque?
In Dubuque, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 43.1 °C on 10 July 1966, and the lowest was -39.7 °C on 3 February 1996.
Compare Dubuque with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Dubuque