Temperature
47 F at 12 AM; 60 F at its warmest, 8 AM Thursday, and 47 F at its coolest, 12 AM.
- Now
- 47F
- 12 AM
- Highest
- 60F
- 8 AM Thursday
- Lowest
- 47F
- 12 AM
How it is measured: Stevenson screen and siting, Field Book FB-INS-009
Des Moines International Airport, Iowa
Large airport in Polk County, Iowa* WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 possible. * WHERE...Much of Iowa. * WHEN...From late Friday night through Saturday morning. * IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.
48°
52°/45°
Mostly clear·
Feels like 42°·Moderate breeze 16 mph NW
Alert. A Freeze Watch is in force for Des Moines International Airport until 9 AM tomorrow. Read the alert in full, and see what it means in the Field Book.
Now. Des Moines International Airport is 48° and mostly clear at 1 AM. With the wind it feels like 42°. The dew point is 39°, so the air feels dry and comfortable. Moderate breeze from the northwest at 16 mph.
Today and tonight. It warms to about 51° by 3 PM. Tonight falls to about 33° by 7 AM, under a mostly clear sky. Frost can form on the ground in sheltered spots. No rain is expected for the rest of the day.
The week. The warmest day ahead is Wednesday, near 75°, and the coolest tomorrow, near 58°. The days ahead look dry. Frost is possible tomorrow morning, a low of 33°.
The sky tonight. The sun sets at 6:32 PM. The Moon is a waxing crescent, 33% lit, and sets at 10:24 PM. The next full Moon is Sunday, Oct 25. After dark, look for Saturn, bright in the east-southeast. A planet shines with a steady light where the stars around it twinkle. The Orionids meteor shower is active, peaking around Oct 21: at its peak, up to about 20 meteors an hour can be seen from a dark site. The sky is forecast to stay clear: a good night to look up. The day is 11 hours 6 minutes long, 2 minutes shorter than yesterday.
0UV Low
16Air quality
74%Humidity
21%Cloud
Now
1:00 AM
48feels42
16mph
Today
Oct 16
5245
24mph
Sat
Oct 17
5833
13mph
Sun
Oct 18
6541
16mph
Mon
Oct 19
6746
overcast
Tue
Oct 20
7147
overcast
Wed
Oct 21
7552
overcast
Thu
Oct 22
7557
16%
48°
52°45°
58°33°
65°41°
67°46°
71°47°
75°52°
75°57°
As of 1:00 AM in Des Moines International Airport, Iowa.
Air quality
The air at Des Moines International Airport
Index 16, good, led by ozone. Read at 12 AM from its reporting area, Des Moines (IA), 0 miles off.
16Good
- Fine particles (PM2.5)15Good-
- Ozone16Good19 ppb5.1 mi
The days ahead
Good each day through Sat Oct 17, led by fine particles. Yesterday measured 20, good.
GoodModerate
- 20YesterdayOct 15
- GoodTodayOct 16
- GoodSatOct 17
Smoke, the next 43 hours
No smoke near the ground through Sat 7 PM.
Precipitation
What has fallen at Des Moines International Airport
0.47 in in the last 24 hours, and none in the 2 days before, to Fri 12 AM. Measured by radar and rain gauges, as water.
- Last 24 hours
- 0.47in
- Last 3 days
- 0.47in
Visibility
How far you can see at Des Moines International Airport, the next 43 hours
Visibility stays 7 miles or more through Sat 7 PM, lowest 8 miles Sat 7 AM.
F
Now, today, and the week
Weather instrument stations by state
Airfield
- Code
- DSM
- ICAO
- KDSM
- IATA
- DSM
- Field elevation
- 958 ft
- Serves
- Des Moines
- Kind
- Large airport
- Scheduled service
- Yes
- Its own instrument
- DSM
- Wind now
- From 310° at 17 mph, read 15 Oct, 23:54
Runways
| Runway | Length | Width | Surface | Heading, true | Wind along it now | Crosswind now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 / 31 | 9,001 ft | 150 ft | Asphalt | 132° / 312° | 17 mph head, on 31 | 1 mph from the left |
| 5 / 23 | 9,004 ft | 150 ft | Concrete-Grooved | 54° / 234° | 4 mph head, on 23 | 16 mph from the right |
Measured here
What the airfield's own instrument measured, the last 24 hours
Every hour from Des Moines (DSM), Des Moines International Airport's own instrument, measure by measure, on the field's own clock.
Humidity and dew point
A dew point of 39 F, the air 74% saturated; the humidity ran from 71% at 10 PM Thursday to 99% at 11 AM Thursday.
- Dew point now
- 39F
- 12 AM
- Humidity now
- 74%
- Humidity, range
- 71 to 99%
How it is measured: Humidity variables, Field Book FB-WAT-002
Wind
17 mph from the west northwest at 12 AM; at its strongest 23 mph, 9 PM Thursday, with a gust of 43 mph at 9 PM Thursday.
- Now
- 17mph
- from the west northwest
- Strongest
- 23mph
- 9 PM Thursday
- Highest gust
- 43mph
- 9 PM Thursday
How it is measured: Coriolis as geometry, Field Book FB-ENG-008
Pressure
30.18 inHg at 12 AM, rising 0.05 inHg over 3 hours; 0.11 inHg higher than a day before.
- Now
- 30.18inHg
- 12 AM
- 3 hours
- +0.05inHg
- rising
- 24 hours
- +0.11inHg
How it is measured: Hydrostatic balance, Field Book FB-ENG-003
Visibility
Down to 0.8 miles at 10 AM Thursday, under a mile for 1 hour; 10 miles or more now.
- Now
- 10+mi
- Lowest
- 0.8mi
- 10 AM Thursday
- Hours under a mile
- 1
How it is measured: Fog types, Field Book FB-WAT-020
Cloud base
The lowest cloud base came down to 200 ft at 10 AM Thursday; a base was reported in 22 of the hours.
- Lowest base now
- -
- Lowest in 24 hours
- 200ft
- 10 AM Thursday
- Hours with a base reported
- 22
How it is measured: Cloud classification, Field Book FB-SKY-001
Precipitation
0.47 in measured in the gauge, the most, 0.14 in, in the hour to 11 AM Thursday.
- Last 24 hours
- 0.47in
- Wettest hour
- 0.14in
- 11 AM Thursday
- Hours with some
- 13
How it is measured: ASOS, Field Book FB-INS-002
Des Moines: every reading, the last 7 days, 30 days and the year, and how well it reports
What is measuring near here
The 7 instruments nearest Des Moines International Airport, how far away each one is, how high it stands, and what kind of measurement it makes. The nearest is 0.2 miles away.
measured now5 instruments
Des MoinesDSM
At an airfield/0.2 mi away/965 ft/7 ft above here
temp, wind, gust, visibility, precip, pressure
Des Moines (I-235)RDMI4
Beside a road/4.9 mi away/922 ft/36 ft below here
temp, pavement temp, wind, visibility, precip
Des Moines River 4 WNW Saylorville ReservoirSAYI4
At a reservoir/11.8 mi away/896 ft/62 ft below here
temp, wind, gust, humidity, pressure
Des Moines 17 E54902
At a climate reference station/19.3 mi away/903 ft/55 ft below here
temp, humidity, wind, solar, precip
AmesS2031
At a soil climate station/32.4 mi away/1,073 ft/115 ft above here
temp, humidity, soil temp, soil moisture
measured daily2 instruments
Des Moines AirportDSXI4
At an airfield/0.5 mi away/953 ft/5 ft below here
snowfall, snow depth, precip, high, low
Des Moines 3.1 SSWIA-PK-39
In a volunteer observer's own ground/0.9 mi away/892 ft/66 ft below here
precip, snowfall, snow depth
What the snow tracker reads here
Every instrument in this state
0in
Snow on the ground
Measured at Des Moines Airport (DSXI4), 0.5 miles from here, read 15 Oct, 19:00. measured daily
Elsewhere in Iowa
15 places, each with its own forecast and its own instruments.
Near Des Moines International Airport
The nearest places, each with its own forecast and the instruments nearest it.
- Norwalkcity, 4 mi
- Des Moinescity, 4 mi
- Cummingcity, 5 mi
- Windsor Heightscity, 6 mi
- West Des Moinescity, 7 mi
- Urbandalecity, 8 mi
- Spring Hillcity, 8 mi
- Pleasant Hillcity, 9 mi
- Carlislecity, 9 mi
- Clivecity, 9 mi
- Saylorvillecommunity, 11 mi
- Johnstoncity, 11 mi
Airports near Des Moines International Airport
- Ankeny Regional AirportIKV, 12 mi
- Ames Municipal AirportAMW, 32 mi
- Knoxville Municipal AirportOXV, 32 mi
- Perry Municipal AirportPRO, 33 mi
- Osceola Municipal AirportI75, 33 mi
- Newton Municipal AirportTNU, 34 mi
- Boone Municipal AirportBNW, 37 mi
- Pella Municipal AirportPEA, 38 mi