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Altoona, Iowa

City in Polk County, Iowa

Air quality

The air at Altoona

Index 17, good, led by ozone. Read at 7 AM from its reporting area, Des Moines (IA), 12 miles off.

17Good
  • Fine particles (PM2.5)16Good-
  • Ozone17Good16 ppb9.3 mi

The days ahead

Good each day through Sat Oct 17, led by fine particles. Yesterday measured 18, good.

Smoke, the next 42 hours

No smoke near the ground through Sun 1 AM.

FriSat

Precipitation

What has fallen at Altoona

0.56 in in the last 24 hours, 0.58 in over the last 3 days, to Fri 6 AM. Measured by radar and rain gauges, as water.

Last 24 hours
0.56in
Last 3 days
0.58in

Visibility

How far you can see at Altoona, the next 42 hours

Visibility stays 6 miles or more through Sun 1 AM, lowest 6 miles Fri 8 AM.

FriSat

On the radar over Altoona, IowaReflectivityStorm topsRain rateRain, last 24 hoursForecast temperatureForecast rain totalEvery picture

What is measuring near here

The 8 instruments nearest Altoona, how far away each one is, how high it stands, and what kind of measurement it makes. The nearest is 0.8 miles away.

measured now6 instruments

AnkenyIKV

At an airfield/6.0 mi away/888 ft/55 ft below here

temp, wind, gust, visibility, precip, pressure

Rank152of 1,060

AmesS2031

At a soil climate station/27.9 mi away/1,073 ft/130 ft above here

temp, humidity, soil temp, soil moisture

Rank748of 1,060

measured daily2 instruments

Des Moines WavelandWGCI4

At a cooperative observer's station/10.9 mi away/860 ft/83 ft below here

snowfall, snow depth, precip, high, low

Rank-

Station report

The weather at Ankeny, drawn

The nearest airport reporting now, 6.0 mi from Altoona, Iowa. From its report of Oct 16, 2026, 7:55 AM local time: 3 of its 6 sheets.

The sky

Overcast at 2,200 ft; the ceiling is 2,200 ft; visibility 10 mi or more.

Section of the sky over Ankeny, height above the station to scale: overcast cloud with its base at 2,200 feet, the ceiling at 2,200 feet, and visibility of 10 mi or more.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT IKVFIG. A THE SKY OVER ANKENYSECTION, HEIGHT ABOVE THE STATION TO SCALE, EACH LAYER AT THE HEIGHT OF ITS BASE AS REPORTED; COVER IN EIGHTHS OF THE SKY; TOPS NOT MEASUREDFT ABOVE THE STATION05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500ETAGESLOWTHE STATIONTHE CEILOMETER READS TO 12,000 FT, ABOVE THIS SHEETOVC 2,200 FTOVERCAST, 8 EIGHTHS OF THE SKYCEILING 2,200 FTVISIBILITY, MILES: 10 MI OR MORE0510TITLEAnkeny, the skySTATION REPORT · ASOS IKVTYPESECTIONSCALEHEIGHT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 1 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-IKV-1DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-SKY-001, FB-SKY-017, FB-SKY-016, FB-SKY-018

The air

48.2 F with a dew point of 42.8 F, 81 per cent relative humidity. Air lifted from the station would cool to its dew point, where cloud forms, about 1,200 ft up; the lowest cloud reported is at 2,200 ft.

Chart of the air at Ankeny: temperature 48.2 degrees Fahrenheit and dew point 42.8, 81 per cent relative humidity; air lifted from the station cools along the dry rate and meets its dew point about 1,200 feet above the station, against the lowest cloud reported at 2,200 feet; height to scale.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT IKVFIG. B THE AIR AT ANKENYTHE REPORTED TEMPERATURE AND DEW POINT, AND AIR LIFTED FROM THE STATION WITHOUT MIXING UNTIL IT SATURATES; HEIGHT ABOVE THE STATION TO SCALEFT ABOVE THE STATION01,0002,0003,00030 F40 F50 F60 FSATURATES 1,200 FT ABOVE THE STATION, AT 41.6 FLOWEST CLOUD REPORTED, OVC 2,200 FTTEMPERATURE 48.2 FDEW POINT 42.8 FSPREAD 5.4 FRELATIVE HUMIDITY 81 PER CENTTHE AIR COOLS ABOUT 5.4 F EACH 1,000 FT IT RISES, AND ITS DEW POINT ABOUT 1 FSOLID: THE LIFTED AIR'S TEMPERATURE; DASHED: ITS DEW POINTTITLEAnkeny, the airSTATION REPORT · ASOS IKVTYPECHARTSCALEHEIGHT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 2 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-IKV-2DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-WAT-002, FB-ENG-011, FB-ENG-005

The wind

From the northwest (310 degrees) at 17 mph, gusting 31 mph: force 4, a moderate breeze on the Beaufort scale. The strongest gust today was 32 mph.

Plan of the wind at Ankeny, north up: blowing from 310 degrees, the northwest, at 17 miles an hour, gusting 31; beside it the Beaufort scale from calm to hurricane force, force 4, moderate breeze, marked.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT IKVFIG. C THE WIND AT ANKENYPLAN, NORTH UP: THE WIND AS REPORTED, AND WHERE IT SITS ON THE BEAUFORT SCALENESWTHE STATIONFROM 310°BEAUFORT FORCELEAST WIND, MPH0CALM01LIGHT AIR12LIGHT BREEZE43GENTLE BREEZE84MODERATE BREEZE13NOW, 17 MPH5FRESH BREEZE196STRONG BREEZE25GUST, 31 MPH7NEAR GALE328GALE399STRONG GALE4710STORM5511VIOLENT STORM6412HURRICANE FORCE73TITLEAnkeny, the windSTATION REPORT · ASOS IKVTYPEPLAN north upSCALENOT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 3 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-IKV-3DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-EVT-150, FB-ENG-008, FB-INS-002

The full report of Ankeny, in 6 sheets, each beside the Field Book plates that explain it

0in

Snow on the ground

Measured at Des Moines Waveland (WGCI4), 10.9 miles from here, read 10 Oct, 07:00. measured daily

Elsewhere in Iowa

15 places, each with its own forecast and its own instruments.

Near Altoona

The nearest places, each with its own forecast and the instruments nearest it.

Near Altoona

River and lake gauges