Snow totals Des Moines, IA
As of October 8, 2026, Des Moines has recorded no snowfall for the 2026-27 season. The normal amount of snow that would have fallen by this date is 0.1 inches, while the full-season average for the city is 34.5 inches. The reading is a station observation from Des Moines International Airport in the GHCN-Daily network. NOAA quality-checks the reading.
as of
Data from Des Moines International Airport, with records back to 1945. 100 percent of days since 1945 carry a reading, and the 2025-26 season reached 100 percent.
Most recent snowfall
2026-27 has produced no measurable snow at this station so far.
How much snow did Des Moines get?
| Snowfall to date | 0.0 inches | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| Normal to date | 0.1 inches | 1991-2020 normal through October 8, 2026 |
| Departure from normal | -0.1 inches | |
| Snow days | 0 | days with measurable snowfall |
| Biggest day | n/a | |
| Last snow day | n/a | |
| Season average | 34.5 inches | 81 seasons on record |
In Des Moines, the median first measurable snow lands on November 13, GHCN-Daily records show. The earliest date on record is October 10 and the latest is December 21, a span that starts in 1945. The median first inch lands on November 28, with the earliest on October 10 and the latest on February 2.
Des Moines snow season totals
| Season | Snowfall | Snow days |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 30.1 inches | 22 |
| 2024-25 | 14.3 inches | 15 |
| 2023-24 | 35.0 inches | 15 |
| 2022-23 | 33.1 inches | 26 |
| 2021-22 | 36.0 inches | 16 |
| 2020-21 | 56.6 inches | 32 |
| 2019-20 | 34.0 inches | 34 |
| 2018-19 | 48.8 inches | 35 |
| 2017-18 | 31.1 inches | 36 |
| 2016-17 | 14.3 inches | 14 |
| 2015-16 | 30.3 inches | 22 |
| 2014-15 | 29.1 inches | 18 |
| 2013-14 | 48.3 inches | 33 |
| 2012-13 | 55.2 inches | 27 |
| 2011-12 | 20.9 inches | 21 |
Station observations from GHCN-Daily, with a 1 to 3 day lag and quality checks.
Snowfall days at each threshold in Des Moines
| Season | 1+ in. | 3+ in. | 5+ in. | 10+ in. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022-23 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021-22 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 2020-21 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 2019-20 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018-19 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017-18 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016-17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Average | 10.3 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 0.1 |
A day counts when its snowfall total meets or passes the column amount, from Des Moines International Airport records in GHCN-Daily. The final row averages all 81 complete seasons, running from 1945 onward.
All-time snowfall records
| Biggest day | 13.7 inches | Jan 26, 1996 |
|---|---|---|
| Snowiest season | 69.0 inches | 2009-10 |
| Least snowy season | 8.3 inches | 1965-66 |
| Average season | 34.5 inches | 81 seasons on record |
| Record begins | 1945 | 29,653 daily readings |
Monthly snowfall normals
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inches | 9.4 | 10.2 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 7.9 |
Normals, the 1991-2020 average, come from NCEI.
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.