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West Des Moines, Iowa

City in Polk County, Iowa

Air quality

The air at West Des Moines

Index 17, good, led by ozone. Read at 11 PM from its reporting area, Des Moines (IA), 7 miles off.

17Good
  • Fine particles (PM2.5)8Good-
  • Ozone17Good20 ppb7.2 mi

The days ahead

Good each day through Sat Oct 17, led by fine particles. Yesterday measured 20, good.

Smoke, the next 44 hours

No smoke near the ground through Sat 7 PM.

FriSat

Precipitation

What has fallen at West Des Moines

0.71 in in the last 24 hours, 0.72 in over the last 3 days, to Thu 11 PM. 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 West Des Moines, the next 44 hours

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

FriSat

On the radar over West Des Moines, IowaReflectivityStorm topsRain rateRain, last 24 hoursForecast temperatureForecast rain totalEvery picture

What is measuring near here

The 8 instruments nearest West Des Moines, how far away each one is, how high it stands, and what kind of measurement it makes. The nearest is 0.5 miles away.

measured now6 instruments

AmesS2031

At a soil climate station/29.4 mi away/1,073 ft/161 ft above here

temp, humidity, soil temp, soil moisture

Rank748of 1,060

measured daily2 instruments

West Des Moines 0.8 NWIA-PK-84

In a volunteer observer's own ground/0.5 mi away/918 ft/6 ft above here

precip, snowfall, snow depth

Rank-

Des Moines WavelandWGCI4

At a cooperative observer's station/5.6 mi away/860 ft/52 ft below here

snowfall, snow depth, precip, high, low

Rank-

Station report

The weather at Des Moines, drawn

The nearest airport reporting now, 6.9 mi from West Des Moines, Iowa. From its report of Oct 15, 2026, 11:54 PM local time: 3 of its 6 sheets.

The sky

A few clouds at 5,500 ft; visibility 10 mi or more.

Section of the sky over Des Moines, height above the station to scale: a few clouds cloud with its base at 5,500 feet, and visibility of 10 mi or more.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT DSMFIG. A THE SKY OVER DES MOINESSECTION, 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 STATION02,5005,0007,50010,000ETAGESLOWMIDDLETHE STATIONTHE CEILOMETER READS TO 12,000 FT, ABOVE THIS SHEETFEW 5,500 FTA FEW CLOUDS, 1 TO 2 EIGHTHS OF THE SKYVISIBILITY, MILES: 10 MI OR MORE0510TITLEDes Moines, the skySTATION REPORT · ASOS DSMTYPESECTIONSCALEHEIGHT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 1 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-DSM-1DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-SKY-001, FB-SKY-017, FB-SKY-016, FB-SKY-018

The air

48.0 F with a dew point of 39.0 F, 71 per cent relative humidity. Air lifted from the station would cool to its dew point, where cloud forms, about 2,100 ft up; the lowest cloud reported is at 5,500 ft.

Chart of the air at Des Moines: temperature 48.0 degrees Fahrenheit and dew point 39.0, 71 per cent relative humidity; air lifted from the station cools along the dry rate and meets its dew point about 2,100 feet above the station, against the lowest cloud reported at 5,500 feet; height to scale.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT DSMFIG. B THE AIR AT DES MOINESTHE REPORTED TEMPERATURE AND DEW POINT, AND AIR LIFTED FROM THE STATION WITHOUT MIXING UNTIL IT SATURATES; HEIGHT ABOVE THE STATION TO SCALEFT ABOVE THE STATION01,0002,0003,0004,0005,0006,0007,00030 F40 F50 F60 FSATURATES 2,100 FT ABOVE THE STATION, AT 37.1 FLOWEST CLOUD REPORTED, FEW 5,500 FTTEMPERATURE 48.0 FDEW POINT 39.0 FSPREAD 9.0 FRELATIVE HUMIDITY 71 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 POINTTITLEDes Moines, the airSTATION REPORT · ASOS DSMTYPECHARTSCALEHEIGHT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 2 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-DSM-2DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-WAT-002, FB-ENG-011, FB-ENG-005

The wind

From the northwest (310 degrees) at 17 mph: force 4, a moderate breeze on the Beaufort scale. The strongest gust today was 46 mph.

Plan of the wind at Des Moines, north up: blowing from 310 degrees, the northwest, at 17 miles an hour; beside it the Beaufort scale from calm to hurricane force, force 4, moderate breeze, marked.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT DSMFIG. C THE WIND AT DES MOINESPLAN, 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 BREEZE257NEAR GALE328GALE399STRONG GALE4710STORM5511VIOLENT STORM6412HURRICANE FORCE73TITLEDes Moines, the windSTATION REPORT · ASOS DSMTYPEPLAN north upSCALENOT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 3 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-DSM-3DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-EVT-150, FB-ENG-008, FB-INS-002

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

0in

Snow on the ground

Measured at Des Moines Waveland (WGCI4), 5.6 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 West Des Moines

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

Near West Des Moines

River and lake gauges