Iowa City, Iowa Weather
Great rains sometimes fall. Day 43 of summer. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Iowa City weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
- TodayAug 2Mostly Clear——83°65°—
- MondayAug 3Mostly Clear——85°64°+2°
- TuesdayAug 4Overcast16%—85°64°0°
- WednesdayAug 5Heavy Showers59%1.9″78°65°-7°
- ThursdayAug 6Drizzle58%—82°63°+4°
- FridayAug 7T-storm w/ Hail15%—87°64°+5°
- SaturdayAug 8Light Drizzle——94°69°+7°
AQI 34 (Good), driven by PM2.5. AQI up 8 over the last 6 hours (gradual rise). PM2.5 at 6.1 µg/m³ (AQI 34) with a 0.95 fine-to-coarse ratio and 6 mph wind — combustion smoke trapped in stagnant air, not road dust.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.
What's driving it
Ozone × UV × Sky
Ozone at AQI 34 now. With UV 3.3 peaking around 1 PM under clear skies, surface ozone likely climbs to AQI 15.
- Present
- AQI 34
- UV peak
- 3.3 at 1 PM
- Sky at peak
- clear
- Projected peak
- AQI 15
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 6.1 µg/m³ (AQI 34) with a 0.95 fine-to-coarse ratio and 6 mph wind — combustion smoke trapped in stagnant air, not road dust.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.95
- Wind
- light
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- stagnant smoke
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).
Red sky at night, sailor's delight.
- Moonrise
- 9:50 PM
- Moonset
- 10:11 AM
- In sign
- ♓︎ Pisces
Great rains sometimes fall
Iowa City at a glance
- Today vs. normal: 14°F above the seasonal normal for this latitude
- Last frost: April 26 (climatological average for this latitude)
- Microseason: Aug 1–5
- Planting window: Sow fall peas. Start kale and collard seedlings for fall.
ZIP codes: 52240, 52242, 52245, 52246
16-Day Forecast — Iowa City
- Sun83°65°0%
- Mon85°64°0%
- Tue85°64°16%
- Wed78°65°59%
- Thu82°63°58%
- Fri87°64°15%
- Sat94°69°7%
- Sun96°76°12%
- Mon90°70°21%
- Tue87°68°25%
- Wed95°76°26%
- Thu91°74°35%
- Fri103°76°39%
- Sat81°66°32%
- Sun85°62°24%
- Mon84°65°30%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Live wind & temperature near Iowa City
Right now in the garden
Peak growing season
As of August 2, the growing season is at its peak — frost is months away. Continue succession-planting beans and summer squash. Start fall brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale) from seed indoors for transplanting in late summer.
SPC Convective Outlook
Storm Prediction Center — Iowa City
SPC includes Iowa City in the general thunderstorm area day after tomorrow — no severe risk, but storms are possible.
- TODAYNONENo severe risk
- TOMORROWNONENo severe risk
- DAY 3TSTMGeneral Thunderstorms
Thunderstorms possible. Not severe, but capable of producing lightning and brief heavy rain.
Source: NOAA / NWS Storm Prediction Center categorical convective outlook. Outlooks are re-issued multiple times per day; this page reflects the most recent SPC polygons covering the city’s coordinates.
Sun & seasons in Iowa City
Iowa City sits in Johnson County, where the year’s longest day runs 15h 12m of daylight and its shortest just 9h 9m — a swing of +6h 3m 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 108 miles to the W. The nearest town Iowa City tracks is Cedar Rapids, roughly 23 miles to the NNW.
Air quality in Iowa City’s county has trended cleaner since 2020; its cleanest year on record was 2025 (median AQI 37). See the full air-quality history for Iowa City.
ZIP codes in Iowa City
- 52245
- 52246
- 52240
- 52242
- 52243
- 52244