Cedar Rapids, Iowa Weather
Thunder stills across the plains. Day 93 of summer. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Cedar Rapids weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
Conditions updated 2:00 AM CDT · Open-Meteo
- TodaySep 21Drizzle later26%0.14″61°54°—
- TuesdaySep 22Light Rain42%0.17″60°49°-1°
- WednesdaySep 23Overcast——68°46°+8°
- ThursdaySep 24Drizzle—0.02″65°51°-3°
- FridaySep 25Light Rain—0.54″61°57°-4°
- SaturdaySep 26Rain19%1.1″59°54°-2°
- SundaySep 27Overcast17%—66°52°+7°
Air quality now AQI 30 · Good
AQI 30 (Good), driven by Ozone. AQI flat over the last 6 hours (within ±3 points).
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
September dries up ditches or breaks down bridges.
- Moonrise
- 4:46 PM
- Moonset
- 1:21 AM
- In sign
- ♑︎ Capricorn
Thunder stills across the plains
Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
All 72 microseasons on the year wheel →
Cedar Rapids at a glance
- Today vs. normal: Today averages 58°F (high 61°F, low 54°F), 3°F below the 61°F normal for Sep 21
- Last frost: April 27 (1991–2020 median, NOAA station 10 km away)
- Microseason: Sep 21–25
- Planting calendar: September — plant garlic (overwinter); harvest tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash
15-Day Forecast — Cedar Rapids
- Mon61°54°26%
- Tue60°49°42%
- Wed68°46°0%
- Thu65°51°6%
- Fri61°57°7%
- Sat59°54°19%
- Sun66°52°17%
- Mon71°52°24%
- Tue72°57°39%
- Wed67°49°22%
- Thu67°49°16%
- Fri64°56°19%
- Sat72°58°14%
- Sun84°55°20%
- Mon67°52°23%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Live wind & temperature near Cedar Rapids
Interactive wind and temperature map centered on Cedar Rapids — it loads in your browser. Open the full weather map.
Right now in the garden
Fall planting + final harvests
As of September 21, the season's first frost (typically October 11) is approaching. Pick what frost-tender plants still carry before the next cold front. This city's planting calendar for September: plant garlic (overwinter); harvest tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, and winter squash.
Sun & seasons in Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids sits in Linn County, where the year’s longest day runs 15h 14m of daylight and its shortest just 9h 7m — a swing of +6h 7m between the June and December solstices. Clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and fall back on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Des Moines, the state’s largest city, lies about 103 miles to the WSW. The nearest town Cedar Rapids tracks is Iowa City, roughly 23 miles to the SSE.
Air quality in Cedar Rapids
Air quality in Cedar Rapids’s county has held roughly steady since 2020; its cleanest year on record was 2024 (median AQI 44). See the full air-quality history for Cedar Rapids.
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| April | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | radishes |
| May | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, spinach, radishes |
| June | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| July | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots | lettuce, peas, spinach, beans, summer squash, garlic |
| August | — | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, garlic |
| September | garlic (overwinter) | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| October | — | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, fall brassicas, carrots |
| November | — | fall brassicas, carrots |
A year in weather
In Cedar Rapids, July runs warmest near 73°F and January coldest around 20°F, while June is the wettest month (5.6 inches) and January the driest (0.9 inches).
| Month | Mean temp | Precip | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20° | 0.9″ | 3 |
| February | 24° | 1.2″ | 3 |
| March | 37° | 2.0″ | 5 |
| April | 49° | 3.6″ | 7 |
| May | 60° | 4.3″ | 8 |
| June | 70° | 5.6″ | 9 |
| July | 73° | 4.4″ | 6 |
| August | 71° | 4.1″ | 6 |
| September | 63° | 3.4″ | 6 |
| October | 51° | 2.9″ | 5 |
| November | 37° | 2.0″ | 4 |
| December | 25° | 1.6″ | 4 |
Regional context
Similar climates Fairfax, IA, Hiawatha, IA, Marion, IA
Cedar Rapids swings from 20°F in January to 73°F in July (53°F) per NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals; precipitation in Cedar Rapids runs about 35.9 inches on roughly 67 measurable days.
Precipitation in Cedar Rapids runs summer-dominant: June averages 5.6 inches across 8.5 days of warm-season storms, while January drops to 0.9 inches over 2.9 rainy days of drier cool air. That puts Cedar Rapids in a summer-convective cohort with places like Fairfax, IA, Hiawatha, IA and Marion, IA.
Around April 27, Cedar Rapids sheds its freezing nights — kale, peas, spinach, and parsnips go into Cedar Rapids's beds. Heat-demanding starts go out a fortnight on in Cedar Rapids, after the soil warms and cold snaps clear. The season ends by October 11 in Cedar Rapids, once hard frosts set back in. Open lawns in Cedar Rapids whiten first when frost returns.
Similar climates: Fairfax, IA, Hiawatha, IA, Marion, IA, Bertram, IA, Ely, IA.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Cedar Rapids?
- In Cedar Rapids, expect the last spring frost near April 27; Cedar Rapids's first autumn frost comes around October 11.
- What is the rainy season in Cedar Rapids?
- June is the wettest month in Cedar Rapids, about 5.6 inches on average; the year totals roughly 36 inches.
- What is the warmest month in Cedar Rapids?
- July is Cedar Rapids's warmest month, averaging about 73°F.
- What is the coldest month in Cedar Rapids?
- Cedar Rapids bottoms out in January, with a mean near 20°F.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in Cedar Rapids?
- Time tomatoes in Cedar Rapids for two weeks after April 27; peas and greens start at Cedar Rapids's frost line.
- How many rainy days does Cedar Rapids get?
- Expect roughly 67 wet days a year in Cedar Rapids.
- What hardiness zone is Cedar Rapids?
- Cedar Rapids's hardiness zone tracks its winter low; with January near 20°F, check the USDA ZIP map for the exact zone.
- What is the 10-day forecast for Cedar Rapids?
- Cedar Rapids's extended outlook — daily high and low temperatures and precipitation chances for each upcoming day — is in the daily forecast above.
- Will it rain this week in Cedar Rapids?
- See this week's day-by-day rain chances for Cedar Rapids in the daily forecast above, and the next 24 hours in the hourly chart.
- What is the weather like right now in Cedar Rapids?
- Current conditions for Cedar Rapids and the next 24 hours — temperature, precipitation chance, and wind by the hour — are in the hourly forecast chart above.
- How often is the Cedar Rapids forecast updated?
- The Cedar Rapids forecast on this page is built from Open-Meteo weather-model data and refreshes regularly through the day.
- When are sunrise and sunset in Cedar Rapids?
- Today's sunrise and sunset times for Cedar Rapids are in the Almanac section above, along with civil dawn, civil dusk, and day length. Day length is longest near the summer solstice and shortest near the winter solstice.
- How accurate is the weather forecast for Cedar Rapids?
- The next few days in Cedar Rapids's forecast are the most reliable; accuracy declines beyond about a week as weather-model uncertainty grows.
Cedar Rapids sits at 42.0°N; its climate zone is warm-summer humid continental (Köppen approximation).
ZIP codes in Cedar Rapids
- 52401
- 52402
- 52403
- 52404
- 52405
- 52406
- 52407
- 52408
- 52409
- 52410
- 52411
- 52497
- 52498
- 52499