Cedar Rapids Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages

This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often Cedar Rapids, Iowa has snow.

There are data and descriptions here of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that Cedar Rapids usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that the city normally has heavy snowstorms and deep snow accumulated on the ground. Plus there's information on when Cedar Rapids can expect the first and last snowfalls of the season.

The first set of monthly snow totals are averages for 2010 to 2019. All the other numbers are averages, based on weather data gathered from 1991 to 2020 in Marion, which forms part of the Cedar Rapids metropolitan area.

How Often it Snows in Cedar Rapids

The next two tables list monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.1 inches (0.25 centimetres).

10-year snowfall averages at Cedar Rapids, 2010 to 2019
Days   Inches Centi­metres
1.9 January 7.1 17.9
3.3 February 10.8 27.4
1.3 March 3.9 9.9
0.3 April 0.7 1.8
0.2 October 0.7 1.7
0.5 November 2.0 5.0
2.1 December 6.7 17.1
9.6 Year 31.8 80.8
30-year snowfall averages at Cedar Rapids, 1991 to 2020
Days   Inches Centi­metres
6.9 January 8.7 22.1
5.1 February 8.3 21.1
2.9 March 4.0 10.2
1.1 April 1.5 3.8
0.4 October 0.6 1.5
2.0 November 2.2 5.6
6.2 December 9.0 22.9
24.6 Year 34.3 87.1

These averages don't show how much the snowfall in Cedar Rapids varies from year to year.

In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 14 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive less than 3.6 inches for the month.

Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 11.7 inches, while the lightest years get less than 5.1 inches.

New snow for February ranges from over 12.5 inches in heavy snowfall years to under 3.3 inches in light years.

When Cedar Rapids Has Its First & Last Snowfalls

The first snowfall of winter for Cedar Rapids usually arrives in November. But about one in four years don't see snow until December. Less commonly, it snows as early as October.

The season's last snowfall most often happens in March, although sometimes in also snows in April.

Cedar Rapids is normally free of snow every year from May to September.

How Many Snowstorms Cedar Rapids Gets

Most days of snowfall in Cedar Rapids leave just a skiff, amounting to less than an inch, of fresh snow on the ground. For 11 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals at least an inch.

Snowstorms of over five inches a day typically occur once a year. They can arrive anytime from December to March. But these storms don't normally amount to major blizzards that dump ten inches or more in one day.

Number of days per month and year on average in Cedar Rapids with a total snowfall of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches
1 inch
2.5 cm
3 inches
7.6 cm
  5 inches
12.7 cm
10 inches
25.4 cm
2.7 0.9 January 0.3 0.0
2.6 1.0 February 0.2 0.0
1.4 0.4 March 0.1 0.0
0.5 0.2 April 0.0 0.0
0.1 0.1 October 0.0 0.0
0.6 0.2 November 0.0 0.0
2.6 0.9 December 0.3 0.0
10.5 3.7 Year 0.9 0.0

How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Cedar Rapids

For just over half of winter days, Cedar Rapids has at least an inch of snow on the ground.

Typically on six days a year the snow covering Cedar Rapids gets to ten or more inches deep.

Average total days per month and year in Cedar Rapids with snow depth of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches on the ground
1 inch
2.5 cm
3 inches
7.6 cm
  5 inches
12.7 cm
10 inches
25.4 cm
20.1 15.9 January 10.5 1.7
16.0 11.8 February 8.2 2.6
6.1 3.5 March 2.4 0.3
0.4 0.1 April 0.0 0.0
0.1 0.1 October 0.0 0.0
1.4 0.7 November 0.1 0.0
12.2 9.0 December 4.9 1.2
56.3 41.1 Year 26.1 5.8
References

Jay Lawrimore, Ron Ray, Scott Applequist, Bryant Korzeniewski, Matthew Menne. 2016. Global Summary of the Month and Year, Version 1.0. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Climate Normals.

Iowa Snowfall
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