IOWA – Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Sioux City face a winter outlook favoring warmer-than-normal temperatures, but Iowa’s snowfall history shows why significant winter weather remains possible. The state’s historical weather-station average is approximately 35.9 inches of snow annually. Even during El Niño winters, snowstorms, dangerous Arctic cold and highway disruptions can continue through March.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), its October 15, 2026, outlook favors above-normal temperatures across Iowa for December 2026 through February 2027, with probabilities generally ranging from 40% to 50%. The precipitation outlook places much of Iowa in an equal-chances category, meaning no clear preference for above-, near- or below-normal precipitation. These seasonal outlooks do not predict snowfall totals.
What Iowa’s Snowfall History Actually Shows Iowa’s 35.9-inch historical average reflects statewide weather-station measurements rather than snowfall in Des Moines or any individual city…