Fort Dodge climate — normals and trends
Fort Dodge (United States) has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 8.8 °C and it receives 893 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 (23.2 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-8.0 °C). Rainfall peaks in June.
Fort Dodge averages 138 frost days, 28 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 105 rainy days per year.
Fort Dodge has warmed by +1.9 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.23 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 146 to 130 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 38.8 °C (on 15 August 1988) and the coldest -34.8 °C (on 15 January 1972).
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
Fort DodgeIowa
- coords
- 42.50°, -94.17°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
8.8°C
Average daily high
13.9°C
Average daily low
3.8°C
Annual rainfall
893mm
Sunshine / day
9.0h
Mean relative humidity
70%
Average peak wind
22.5km/h
Seasonal range
31.2°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
138 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
28 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
105 d/yr
Annual snowfall
75.1 cm
Average feels-like high
11.4 °C
Average feels-like low
0.4 °C
Average peak gust
40.9 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
23 d/yr
Solar radiation
15.2 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.9 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.30 · 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
38.8 °C
15 August 1988
Coldest day
-34.8 °C
15 January 1972
Wettest day
144 mm
30 July 2025
Windiest day
73.8 km/h
10 October 1949
Strongest gust
122.4 km/h
10 October 1949
Hottest feels-like
45.5 °C
6 July 1948
Coldest feels-like
-40.4 °C
15 January 1972
Snowiest day
25.4 cm
18 March 1971
Sunniest day
14.9 h
17 June 1940
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
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Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -1.1 °C | +2.3 °C | 3 mm | -24 mm |
| Feb | -1.9 °C | -1.1 °C | 18 mm | -13 mm |
| Mar | 12.4 °C | +6.2 °C | 119 mm | +51 mm |
| Apr | 16.3 °C | +1.4 °C | 73 mm | -25 mm |
| May | 22.2 °C | +0.9 °C | 81 mm | -42 mm |
| Jun | 27.8 °C | +1.4 °C | 158 mm | +32 mm |
| Jul | 28.4 °C | +0.1 °C | 298 mm | +203 mm |
| Aug | 26.3 °C | -0.9 °C | 99 mm | -2 mm |
| Sep | 25.5 °C | +2.2 °C | 41 mm | -42 mm |
| Oct | 19.0 °C | +2.2 °C | 71 mm | +8 mm |
| Nov | 9.2 °C | +1.9 °C | 48 mm | +2 mm |
| Dec | 0.4 °C | +0.9 °C | 32 mm | -2 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 Fort Dodge?
Fort Dodge has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 8.8 °C and it receives 893 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Fort Dodge?
The hottest day measured in Fort Dodge between 1940 and 2025 was 15 August 1988, reaching 38.8 °C.
What is the coldest day in Fort Dodge?
The coldest day measured in Fort Dodge between 1940 and 2025 was 15 January 1972, at -34.8 °C.
Does it snow in Fort Dodge?
Yes. Fort Dodge gets on average 75.1 cm of snow per year and has around 138 frost days.
Has the climate of Fort Dodge warmed?
Yes: Fort Dodge warmed by +1.9 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Fort Dodge?
The wettest day measured in Fort Dodge between 1940 and 2025 was 30 July 2025, with 144 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Fort Dodge?
The windiest day measured in Fort Dodge between 1940 and 2025 was 10 October 1949, with winds reaching 73.8 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Fort Dodge?
The warmest month in Fort Dodge is July (23.2 °C on average); the coldest is January (-8.0 °C).
How much does it rain in Fort Dodge?
Fort Dodge receives on average 893 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 105 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Fort Dodge?
Fort Dodge gets on average 9.0 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,285 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Fort Dodge?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Fort Dodge between 1940 and 2025 was 18 March 1971, with 25.4 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Fort Dodge?
Yes: Fort Dodge has on average 23 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Fort Dodge?
In Fort Dodge, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 45.5 °C on 6 July 1948, and the lowest was -40.4 °C on 15 January 1972.
Compare Fort Dodge with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Fort Dodge