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Fairbank, Iowa

City in Buchanan County, Iowa

Air quality

The air at Fairbank

Index 43, good, led by fine particles. Read at 11 PM from its reporting area, Waterloo (IA), 20 miles off.

43Good
  • Fine particles (PM2.5)43Good16.6 mi
  • Ozone-17 ppb24.6 mi

The days ahead

Good each day through Today, led by ozone. Yesterday measured 31, good.

Smoke, the next 44 hours

No smoke near the ground through Sat 7 PM.

FriSat

Precipitation

What has fallen at Fairbank

0.78 in in the last 24 hours, 0.96 in over the last 3 days, to Thu 11 PM. Measured by radar and rain gauges, as water.

Last 24 hours
0.78in
Last 3 days
0.96in

Visibility

How far you can see at Fairbank, the next 44 hours

Visibility stays 7 miles or more through Sat 7 PM, lowest 8 miles Sat 4 AM.

FriSat

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

What is measuring near here

The 5 instruments nearest Fairbank, 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 now3 instruments

OelweinOLZ

At an airfield/4.6 mi away/1,076 ft/92 ft above here

temp, wind, gust, visibility, precip, pressure

Rank1of 1,060

measured daily2 instruments

Fairbank 3.7 SSWIA-BH-16

In a volunteer observer's own ground/3.9 mi away/992 ft/8 ft above here

precip, snowfall, snow depth

Rank-

Oelwein 1EOLNI4

At a cooperative observer's station/9.1 mi away/1,168 ft/184 ft above here

snowfall, snow depth, precip, high, low

Rank-

Station report

The weather at Oelwein, drawn

The nearest airport reporting now, 4.6 mi from Fairbank, Iowa. From its report of Oct 15, 2026, 11:55 PM local time: 3 of its 6 sheets.

The sky

Broken at 4,100 ft, overcast at 5,000 ft; the ceiling is 4,100 ft; visibility 10 mi or more.

Section of the sky over Oelwein, height above the station to scale: broken cloud with its base at 4,100 feet, overcast cloud with its base at 5,000 feet, the ceiling at 4,100 feet, and visibility of 10 mi or more.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT OLZFIG. A THE SKY OVER OELWEINSECTION, 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 STATION01,0002,0003,0004,0005,0006,0007,0008,000ETAGESLOWMIDDLETHE STATIONTHE CEILOMETER READS TO 12,000 FT, ABOVE THIS SHEETOVC 5,000 FTOVERCAST, 8 EIGHTHS OF THE SKYBKN 4,100 FTBROKEN, 5 TO 7 EIGHTHS OF THE SKYCEILING 4,100 FTVISIBILITY, MILES: 10 MI OR MORE0510TITLEOelwein, the skySTATION REPORT · ASOS OLZTYPESECTIONSCALEHEIGHT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 1 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-OLZ-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 4,100 ft.

Chart of the air at Oelwein: 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 4,100 feet; height to scale.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT OLZFIG. B THE AIR AT OELWEINTHE REPORTED TEMPERATURE AND DEW POINT, AND AIR LIFTED FROM THE STATION WITHOUT MIXING UNTIL IT SATURATES; HEIGHT ABOVE THE STATION TO SCALEFT ABOVE THE STATION01,0002,0003,0004,0005,0006,00030 F40 F50 F60 FSATURATES 1,200 FT ABOVE THE STATION, AT 41.6 FLOWEST CLOUD REPORTED, BKN 4,100 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 POINTTITLEOelwein, the airSTATION REPORT · ASOS OLZTYPECHARTSCALEHEIGHT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 2 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-OLZ-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 29 mph: force 4, a moderate breeze on the Beaufort scale. The strongest gust today was 37 mph.

Plan of the wind at Oelwein, north up: blowing from 310 degrees, the northwest, at 17 miles an hour, gusting 29; beside it the Beaufort scale from calm to hurricane force, force 4, moderate breeze, marked.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT OLZFIG. C THE WIND AT OELWEINPLAN, 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, 29 MPH7NEAR GALE328GALE399STRONG GALE4710STORM5511VIOLENT STORM6412HURRICANE FORCE73TITLEOelwein, the windSTATION REPORT · ASOS OLZTYPEPLAN north upSCALENOT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 3 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-OLZ-3DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-EVT-150, FB-ENG-008, FB-INS-002

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

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Snow on the ground

Elsewhere in Iowa

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

Near Fairbank

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

Near Fairbank

River and lake gauges