Des Moines picks up around 10 more inches of snow each winter.
Des Moines enjoys about 25 more sunny days a year than Columbus. Des Moines sees rain or snow on roughly 22 fewer days each year.
The year at a glance
Averages from 30 years of climate history, 1991-2020
| Columbus | Metric | Des Moines |
|---|---|---|
| 178 days | Sunny daysclear or partly cloudy skies | 203 days |
| 42 in | Precipitationper year | 37 in |
| 135 days | Wet daysrain or snow per year | 113 days |
| 25 in | Snowfallper year | 35 in |
| 21 days | Hot daysabove 90 °F | 21 days |
| 112 days | Freezing nightsat or below 32 °F | 130 days |
| 70% | Humidityaverage relative | 70% |
| 53 °F | Average temperatureyear round | 51 °F |
Monthly temperatures
Average daily high and low for each month, in °F. The gap between the two lines is what an ordinary day feels like across the year.
Daily highs
Daily lows
View monthly temperatures as a table
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus high | 37 | 41 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 53 | 41 |
| Des Moines high | 31 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 77 | 63 | 48 | 36 |
| Columbus low | 21 | 23 | 31 | 41 | 52 | 61 | 65 | 63 | 55 | 44 | 33 | 27 |
| Des Moines low | 14 | 18 | 29 | 40 | 52 | 62 | 66 | 64 | 55 | 43 | 30 | 19 |
Monthly precipitation
Total rain plus melted snow for each month, in inches. Taller bars mean wetter months.
View monthly precipitation as a table
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | 3.3 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
| Des Moines | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
Monthly sunny days
Days each month with clear or partly cloudy skies, so compare the same month between cities.
View monthly sunny days as a table
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | 9 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 10 |
| Des Moines | 14 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 16 | 14 |
Keep comparing
Nearby cities and popular picks for each side of this matchup. Any two cities can be compared from the home page.
Columbus vs another city
- Columbus vs Grandview Heights, OH
- Columbus vs Bexley, OH
- Columbus vs Whitehall, OH
- Columbus vs Upper Arlington, OH
- Columbus vs Gahanna, OH
- Columbus vs Worthington, OH
- Columbus vs New York, NY
- Columbus vs Los Angeles, CA
- Columbus vs Chicago, IL
- Columbus vs Houston, TX
- Columbus vs Phoenix, AZ
- Columbus vs Philadelphia, PA
Des Moines vs another city
- Des Moines vs Pleasant Hill, IA
- Des Moines vs Windsor Heights, IA
- Des Moines vs Norwalk, IA
- Des Moines vs Altoona, IA
- Des Moines vs West Des Moines, IA
- Des Moines vs Urbandale, IA
- Des Moines vs New York, NY
- Des Moines vs Los Angeles, CA
- Des Moines vs Chicago, IL
- Des Moines vs Houston, TX
- Des Moines vs Phoenix, AZ
- Des Moines vs Philadelphia, PA
About this data
Every figure on this page is a 30 year average computed from daily climate history for 1991-2020, using each city's own coordinates. Wet days count days with measurable precipitation, calibrated against the wet day counts in NOAA's published climate normals. Sunny days count clear plus partly cloudy days, defined as average cloud cover of 63 percent or less and calibrated against NOAA's published sky cover tables. Snowfall figures are model estimates anchored to NOAA station measurements near each city.
Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information (ERA5, ERA5-Land).