Woman looking confused standing by a mini-split

Iowa State Fair emblem
August in Iowa means it’s time for the Iowa State Fair.

Don’t even think about turning off that air conditioner, Des Moines. August is typically the second-warmest month of the year in Des Moines, with an average high temperature of 84 degrees (July comes in first at 86).

Here are seven things you may not know about August weather in Des Moines, according to the National Weather Service.

    • The highest temperature ever recorded was 110 degrees on August 4, 1918. Don’t worry, air conditioning was invented 16 years earlier.
    • The lowest temperature was 40 degrees on August 24, 1891, and again on August 8, 1934.
    • The warmest August was 1983, with an average temperature of 83.3 degrees. The coldest August was in 1915, with an average temperature of 67.3 degrees.
    • The wettest August (most rain fall) was 1977, followed by 1993 and 2010.
    • Des Moines has had at least one 90-degree day in August in 97 percent of the years since 1878. The thermometer reaches 100 degree in only 17 percent of Augusts.
    • Only twice since 1878 has the temperature dipped below 40 degrees in August.
    • It has never snowed in Des Moines during the month of August (at least not since 1884).

If the August heat is too much for your old air conditioner to handle, call Kohles & Bach. We specialize in air conditioning installation and repair.