Ottumwa Metro Area, IA Climate

The climate in the Ottumwa, IA Metro Area is characterized by cold, dry winters and hot, humid summers. The average annual temperature lies around 50°F (10°C). Winters are usually cool with snowfall occurring from late November through early March. Snowfall can range from light to moderate, with an average of 12 inches of snow annually. Summers tend to be hot and humid with temperatures reaching up to 90°F (32°C). Rainfall is common throughout the year averaging around 38 inches per year.

Ottumwa Metro Area, Iowa gets 39 inches of rain, on average, per year. The US average is 38 inches of rain per year.

Ottumwa Metro Area averages 24 inches of snow per year. The US average is 28 inches of snow per year.

On average, there are 199 sunny days per year in Ottumwa Metro Area. The US average is 205 sunny days.

Ottumwa Metro Area gets some kind of precipitation, on average, 105 days per year. Precipitation is rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground. In order for precipitation to be counted you have to get at least .01 inches on the ground to measure.

Weather Highlights

Summer High: the July high is around 86 degrees
Winter Low: the January low is 14
Rain: averages 39 inches of rain a year
Snow: averages 24 inches of snow a year

Bestplaces Comfort Index

The annual BestPlaces Comfort Index for the Ottumwa metro area is 7.0 (10=best), which means it is more comfortable than most places in Iowa.

8.6 Summer - 4.9 Winter

June, September and May are the most pleasant months in the Ottumwa metro area, while January and December are the least comfortable months.

Climate	Ottumwa, Iowa	United States
	38.7 in.	38.1 in.
	23.8 in.	27.8 in.
	105.0 days	106.2 days
	199 days	205 days
	85.5°	85.8°
	13.6°	21.7°
	7	7
	3.9	4.3
	780 ft.	2443 ft.

Climate

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Many people confuse weather and climate but they are different. Weather is the conditions of the atmosphere over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere is over long periods of time.

Weather is how the atmosphere is behaving and its effects upon life and human activities. Weather can change from minute-to-minute. Most people think of weather in terms of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, brightness, visibility, wind, and atmospheric pressure.

Climate is the description of the long-term pattern of weather in a place. Climate can mean the average weather for a particular region and time period taken over 30 years. Climate is the average of weather over time.

July is the hottest month for the Ottumwa metro area with an average high temperature of 85.5°, which ranks it as warmer than most places in Iowa. In the Ottumwa metro area, there are 4 comfortable months with high temperatures in the range of 70-85°. The most pleasant months of the year for the Ottumwa metro area are September, June and August.

In the Ottumwa metro area, there are 17.0 days annually when the high temperature is over 90°, which is hotter than most places in Iowa.

January has the coldest nighttime temperatures for the Ottumwa metro area with an average of 13.6°. This is warmer than most places in Iowa.

In the Ottumwa metro area, there are 132.4 days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below freezing, which is one of the warmest places in Iowa.

In the Ottumwa metro area, there are 12.3 days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below zero°, which is warmer than most places in Iowa.

The humidity is usually comfortable in the Ottumwa metro area but some summer months can be unpleasant. July is the most humid month, though humidity is low for most of the year. The most humid months in the Ottumwa metro area are July, August and June.

May is the wettest month in the Ottumwa metro area with 5.0 inches of rain, and the driest month is February with 1.4 inches. The wettest season is Autumn with 37% of yearly precipitation and 12% occurs in Spring, which is the driest season. The annual rainfall of 38.7 inches in the Ottumwa metro area means that it is one of the wettest places in Iowa.

May is the rainiest month in the Ottumwa metro area with 12.1 days of rain, and January is the driest month with only 6.1 rainy days. There are 105.0 rainy days annually in the Ottumwa metro area, which is rainier than most places in Iowa. The rainiest season is Summer when it rains 30% of the time and the driest is Spring with only a 19% chance of a rainy day.

An annual snowfall of 23.8 inches in the Ottumwa metro area means that it is one of the least snowy places in Iowa. February is the snowiest month in the Ottumwa metro area with 6.3 inches of snow, and 6 months of the year have significant snowfall.

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