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Rock Rapids, Iowa

City in Lyon County, Iowa

Air quality

The air at Rock Rapids

Index 30, good, led by fine particles. Read at 1 AM from its reporting area, Sioux Falls (SD), 28 miles off.

30Good
  • Fine particles (PM2.5)30Good-
  • Ozone19Good-
  • Coarse particles (PM10)19Good-

The days ahead

Yesterday measured 32, good.

Smoke, the next 43 hours

No smoke near the ground through Sat 7 PM.

FriSat

Precipitation

What has fallen at Rock Rapids

0.71 in in the last 24 hours, 0.72 in over the last 3 days, to Fri 12 AM. Measured by radar and rain gauges, as water.

Last 24 hours
0.71in
Last 3 days
0.72in

Visibility

How far you can see at Rock Rapids, the next 43 hours

Visibility stays 9 miles or more through Sat 7 PM, lowest 9 miles Fri 3 AM.

FriSat

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

What is measuring near here

The 5 instruments nearest Rock Rapids, how far away each one is, how high it stands, and what kind of measurement it makes. The nearest is 0.4 miles away.

measured now3 instruments

SheldonSHL

At an airfield/22.6 mi away/1,418 ft/51 ft above here

temp, wind, gust, visibility, precip, pressure

Rank216of 1,060

SibleyRSYI4

Beside a road/22.9 mi away/1,574 ft/207 ft above here

temp, pavement temp, wind, visibility, precip

Rank851of 1,060

measured daily2 instruments

Rock RapidsRKRI4

At a cooperative observer's station/0.4 mi away/1,378 ft/11 ft above here

snowfall, snow depth, precip, high, low

Rank902of 1,060

Rock Rapids 2.6 SSEIA-LY-12

In a volunteer observer's own ground/2.7 mi away/1,332 ft/35 ft below here

precip, snowfall, snow depth

Rank-

Station report

The weather at Sheldon, drawn

The nearest airport reporting now, 22.6 mi from Rock Rapids, Iowa. From its report of Oct 16, 2026, 1:15 AM local time: 3 of its 6 sheets.

The sky

Broken at 2,600 ft, overcast at 3,400 ft; the ceiling is 2,600 ft; visibility 10 mi or more.

Section of the sky over Sheldon, height above the station to scale: broken cloud with its base at 2,600 feet, overcast cloud with its base at 3,400 feet, the ceiling at 2,600 feet, and visibility of 10 mi or more.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT SHLFIG. A THE SKY OVER SHELDONSECTION, 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 3,400 FTOVERCAST, 8 EIGHTHS OF THE SKYBKN 2,600 FTBROKEN, 5 TO 7 EIGHTHS OF THE SKYCEILING 2,600 FTVISIBILITY, MILES: 10 MI OR MORE0510TITLESheldon, the skySTATION REPORT · ASOS SHLTYPESECTIONSCALEHEIGHT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 1 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-SHL-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 42.8 F, 87 per cent relative humidity. Air lifted from the station would cool to its dew point, where cloud forms, about 800 ft up; the lowest cloud reported is at 2,600 ft.

Chart of the air at Sheldon: temperature 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit and dew point 42.8, 87 per cent relative humidity; air lifted from the station cools along the dry rate and meets its dew point about 800 feet above the station, against the lowest cloud reported at 2,600 feet; height to scale.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT SHLFIG. B THE AIR AT SHELDONTHE REPORTED TEMPERATURE AND DEW POINT, AND AIR LIFTED FROM THE STATION WITHOUT MIXING UNTIL IT SATURATES; HEIGHT ABOVE THE STATION TO SCALEFT ABOVE THE STATION01,0002,0003,0004,00030 F40 F50 F60 FSATURATES 800 FT ABOVE THE STATION, AT 42.0 FLOWEST CLOUD REPORTED, BKN 2,600 FTTEMPERATURE 46.4 FDEW POINT 42.8 FSPREAD 3.6 FRELATIVE HUMIDITY 87 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 POINTTITLESheldon, the airSTATION REPORT · ASOS SHLTYPECHARTSCALEHEIGHT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 2 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-SHL-2DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-WAT-020, FB-WAT-002, FB-ENG-011, FB-ENG-005

The wind

From the northwest (310 degrees) at 21 mph, gusting 29 mph: force 5, a fresh breeze on the Beaufort scale. The strongest gust today was 29 mph.

Plan of the wind at Sheldon, north up: blowing from 310 degrees, the northwest, at 21 miles an hour, gusting 29; beside it the Beaufort scale from calm to hurricane force, force 5, fresh breeze, marked.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT SHLFIG. C THE WIND AT SHELDONPLAN, NORTH UP: THE WIND AS REPORTED, AND WHERE IT SITS ON THE BEAUFORT SCALENESWTHE STATIONFROM 310°BEAUFORT FORCELEAST WIND, MPH0CALM01LIGHT AIR12LIGHT BREEZE43GENTLE BREEZE84MODERATE BREEZE135FRESH BREEZE19NOW, 21 MPH6STRONG BREEZE25GUST, 29 MPH7NEAR GALE328GALE399STRONG GALE4710STORM5511VIOLENT STORM6412HURRICANE FORCE73TITLESheldon, the windSTATION REPORT · ASOS SHLTYPEPLAN north upSCALENOT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 3 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-SHL-3DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-EVT-150, FB-ENG-008, FB-INS-002

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

0in

Snow on the ground

Measured at Rock Rapids (RKRI4), 0.4 miles from here, read 15 Oct, 08:00. measured daily

Elsewhere in Iowa

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

Near Rock Rapids

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

Near Rock Rapids

River and lake gauges