Rainfall totals Des Moines, IA
For Des Moines, the official rainfall for the year to date is 31.73 inches through Aug 21, 2026, according to the National Weather Service daily climate report. The normal for that date is 25.77 inches.
Data from Des Moines International Airport, with records back to 1945.
Official rainfall report for Aug 21, 2026
| Measured | Normal | |
|---|---|---|
| Rain on Aug 21, 2026 | T | 0.13 inches |
| Month to date | 5.48 inches | 2.84 inches |
| Year to date | 31.73 inches | 25.77 inches |
| Record for Aug 21 | 2.92 inches | 1946 |
Source: National Weather Service daily climate report for DES MOINES, issued the morning after Aug 21, 2026. The local National Weather Service office issues the daily climate report for the airport station the next morning, and that report is the official figure.
Days with measurable rain, 2026
| Date | Rainfall |
|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2026 | 0.10 inches |
| Aug 14, 2026 | 0.96 inches |
| Aug 13, 2026 | 2.38 inches |
| Aug 12, 2026 | 0.02 inches |
| Aug 9, 2026 | 0.07 inches |
| Aug 6, 2026 | 0.02 inches |
| Aug 5, 2026 | 1.65 inches |
| Aug 4, 2026 | 0.28 inches |
| Jul 31, 2026 | 0.35 inches |
| Jul 30, 2026 | 0.18 inches |
| Jul 20, 2026 | 2.56 inches |
| Jul 8, 2026 | 0.32 inches |
| Jul 5, 2026 | 0.01 inches |
| Jul 4, 2026 | 1.25 inches |
| Jul 3, 2026 | 3.26 inches |
| Jul 2, 2026 | 0.54 inches |
| Jun 21, 2026 | 1.08 inches |
| Jun 19, 2026 | 0.03 inches |
| Jun 17, 2026 | 0.03 inches |
| Jun 16, 2026 | 0.01 inches |
| Jun 13, 2026 | 0.18 inches |
| Jun 11, 2026 | 0.79 inches |
| Jun 10, 2026 | 0.64 inches |
| Jun 8, 2026 | 0.10 inches |
| Jun 7, 2026 | 0.21 inches |
| Jun 5, 2026 | 0.53 inches |
| Jun 4, 2026 | 0.91 inches |
| May 31, 2026 | 0.28 inches |
| May 30, 2026 | 0.08 inches |
| May 23, 2026 | 0.09 inches |
Through Aug 19, 2026, the GHCN-Daily station record shows 31.73 inches of measurable rain so far this year, falling over a 64-day span. Station observations are from GHCN-Daily, with a 1-3 day lag and quality checks by NOAA.
All-time rainfall records
| Wettest day | 6.18 inches | Aug 27, 1975 |
|---|---|---|
| Wettest year | 55.88 inches | 1993 |
| Driest year | 17.07 inches | 1956 |
| Average year | 33.58 inches | 80 complete years on record |
| Rain days a year | 109 | average, 0.01 inch or more |
| Record begins | 1945 | 29,619 daily readings |
Monthly rainfall normals
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inches | 1.08 | 1.34 | 2.17 | 4.02 | 5.24 | 5.26 | 3.82 | 4.17 | 3.18 | 2.78 | 1.91 | 1.58 | 36.55 |
Averages are 1991-2020 normals from NCEI.
The daily climate report is issued by the local National Weather Service forecast office and delivered to this page by the Iowa Environmental Mesonet of Iowa State University. Under 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright attaches to the government-produced figures on this page, including reports, alerts, station observations, and normals, which were created by the National Weather Service and other NOAA offices. The notice that 17 U.S.C. 403 requires appears in this sentence. It does not imply endorsement by or affiliation with those agencies. See: Data sources and attribution.