Iowa Monthly Weather Summary – March 2026
General Summary
Statewide temperatures averaged 42.6 degrees or 6.2 degrees above normal while precipitation totaled 1.97 inches, 0.02 inch below normal. March 2026 ties 1921 as the 12th warmest in 154 years of records. It also ranks as the 67th wettest/88th driest March on record. A warmer and wetter March occurred last year, while 2023 was drier.
Justin Glisan, Ph.D.
State Climatologist of Iowa
Iowa Dept. of Agriculture & Land Stewardship
Wallace State Office Bldg.
Des Moines, IA 50319
Telephone: (515) 281-8981
E-mail: Justin.Glisan@IowaAgriculture.gov
Weather by Districts
| TEMPERATURE (F) | HEATING DEGREE DAYS | PRECIPITATION (inches) | |||||||||
| SNOWFALL | |||||||||||
| March 2026 | March 2026 | Since Jul., 1, 2025 | March 2026 | Since Jan.1, 2026 | Mar 2026 | ||||||
| DISTRICT | Average | Departure* | Average | Departure* | Average | Departure* | Average | Departure* | Average | Departure* | Average |
| Northwest | 40.1 | +6.1 | 772 | -190 | 5777 | -834 | 1.15 | -0.51 | 1.47 | -1.75 | 3.5 |
| North Central | 38.8 | +5.5 | 812 | -170 | 6050 | -613 | 1.93 | 0.00 | 3.13 | -0.73 | 4.6 |
| Northeast | 39.4 | +5.4 | 794 | -168 | 6060 | -471 | 2.51 | +0.49 | 4.79 | +0.40 | 4.0 |
| West Central | 43.0 | +6.2 | 691 | -186 | 5293 | -824 | 2.00 | +0.19 | 3.02 | -0.53 | 2.3 |
| Central | 42.6 | +6.2 | 703 | -184 | 5450 | -659 | 2.18 | +0.18 | 3.99 | -0.05 | 1.9 |
| East Central | 43.4 | +6.3 | 677 | -188 | 5464 | -488 | 2.23 | +0.02 | 3.37 | -1.51 | 4.1 |
| Southwest | 45.9 | +6.5 | 605 | -193 | 4864 | -779 | 1.36 | -0.62 | 2.57 | -1.35 | 0.8 |
| South Central | 46.9 | +7.8 | 576 | -231 | 4866 | -753 | 1.94 | -0.16 | 3.19 | -1.23 | 1.2 |
| Southeast | 45.6 | +6.4 | 612 | -190 | 4995 | -544 | 2.40 | +0.07 | 3.15 | -2.12 | 2.1 |
| STATE | 42.6 | +6.2 | 698 | -186 | 5469 | -619 | 1.97 | -0.02 | 3.20 | -0.94 | 2.9 |
* Departures are computed from 1991-2020 normals. Due to the federal government shutdown, observations are still preliminary.
The weather data in this report are based upon information collected by the U. S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA National Weather Service.
