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Elkhart, Iowa

City in Polk County, Iowa

Air quality

The air at Elkhart

Index 24, good, led by fine particles. Read at 1 AM from its reporting area, Des Moines (IA), 19 miles off.

24Good
  • Fine particles (PM2.5)24Good-
  • Ozone17Good-

The days ahead

Good each day through Sat Oct 17, led by fine particles. Yesterday measured 13, good.

Smoke, the next 42 hours

No smoke near the ground through Sat 7 PM.

FriSat

Precipitation

What has fallen at Elkhart

0.43 in in the last 24 hours, and none in the 2 days before, to Fri 1 AM. Measured by radar and rain gauges, as water.

Last 24 hours
0.43in
Last 3 days
0.43in

Visibility

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

Visibility stays 7 miles or more through Sat 7 PM, lowest 8 miles Sat 5 AM.

FriSat

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

What is measuring near here

The 8 instruments nearest Elkhart, how far away each one is, how high it stands, and what kind of measurement it makes. The nearest is 0.1 miles away.

measured now6 instruments

AnkenyIKV

At an airfield/7.8 mi away/888 ft/75 ft below here

temp, wind, gust, visibility, precip, pressure

Rank152of 1,060

AmesS2031

At a soil climate station/17.6 mi away/1,073 ft/110 ft above here

temp, humidity, soil temp, soil moisture

Rank748of 1,060

measured daily2 instruments

Elkhart 0.3 WSWIA-PK-141

In a volunteer observer's own ground/0.1 mi away/968 ft/5 ft above here

precip, snowfall, snow depth

Rank-

NWS Des MoinesDMX

At a cooperative observer's station/11.3 mi away/932 ft/31 ft below here

snowfall, snow depth, precip, high, low

Rank16of 1,060

Station report

The weather at Ankeny, drawn

The nearest airport reporting now, 7.8 mi from Elkhart, Iowa. From its report of Oct 16, 2026, 1:55 AM local time: 3 of its 6 sheets.

The sky

Overcast at 3,800 ft; the ceiling is 3,800 ft; visibility 10 mi or more.

Section of the sky over Ankeny, height above the station to scale: overcast cloud with its base at 3,800 feet, the ceiling at 3,800 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 STATION01,0002,0003,0004,0005,0006,000ETAGESLOWTHE STATIONTHE CEILOMETER READS TO 12,000 FT, ABOVE THIS SHEETOVC 3,800 FTOVERCAST, 8 EIGHTHS OF THE SKYCEILING 3,800 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

46.4 F with a dew point of 41.0 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 3,800 ft.

Chart of the air at Ankeny: temperature 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit and dew point 41.0, 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 3,800 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 STATION01,0002,0003,0004,0005,00030 F40 F50 F60 FSATURATES 1,200 FT ABOVE THE STATION, AT 39.8 FLOWEST CLOUD REPORTED, OVC 3,800 FTTEMPERATURE 46.4 FDEW POINT 41.0 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 west northwest (300 degrees) at 15 mph, gusting 22 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 300 degrees, the west northwest, at 15 miles an hour, gusting 22; 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 300°BEAUFORT FORCELEAST WIND, MPH0CALM01LIGHT AIR12LIGHT BREEZE43GENTLE BREEZE84MODERATE BREEZE13NOW, 15 MPH5FRESH BREEZE19GUST, 22 MPH6STRONG BREEZE257NEAR 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 NWS Des Moines (DMX), 11.3 miles from here, read 15 Oct, 23:59. measured daily

Elsewhere in Iowa

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

Near Elkhart

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

Near Elkhart

River and lake gauges