Fort Dodge weather in March

In March, Fort Dodge sees average daytime highs of 46°F and overnight lows near 27°F, with 2.4 in of precipitation across 8.2 wet days and about 11.6 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 38°F in the first days to 53°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 54 min at the start of March to 12 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Fort Dodge's 7th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Fort Dodge's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 46°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 27°; 4th coldest
Precipitation: 2.4 in; 8.2 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 36 min; 6:37 AM – 6:16 PM
Cloud cover: 62%; 7th clearest
Wind: 10 mph; 2nd windiest
Solar energy: 4.18 kWh/m²
Travel score: 1.3; out of 10

Fort Dodge is city and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States.

Density: 584/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1869

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← February Fort Dodge year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 38°F in the first days to 53°F by the end.

A typical March day in Fort Dodge reaches about 46°F in the afternoon and slips back to 27°F overnight — a 19°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 30°F and 63°F. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 14°F warmer than February and about 14°F cooler than April.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°F)	37	37	38	38	39	39	40	41	41	42	43	43	44	45	45	46	46	47	47	48	49	49	50	50	51	51	52	52	53	53	53
Avg low (°F)	20	20	20	21	21	22	22	23	23	24	24	25	26	26	27	27	28	28	29	29	30	30	31	31	31	32	32	32	33	33	33

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	37	20
2	37	20
3	38	20
4	38	21
5	39	21
6	39	22
7	40	22
8	41	23
9	41	23
10	42	24
11	43	24
12	43	25
13	44	26
14	45	26
15	45	27
16	46	27
17	46	28
18	47	28
19	47	29
20	48	29
21	49	30
22	49	30
23	50	31
24	50	31
25	51	31
26	51	32
27	52	32
28	52	32
29	53	33
30	53	33
31	53	33

How March really feels in Fort Dodge

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 31 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

10 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

The story in March is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Fort Dodge weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 8th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	27° / 11°	1.1	5.7	5.3	9.2	0.0
Feb	32° / 15°	1.3	6.1	5	10.3	0.0
Mar	46° / 27°	2.4	8.2	3.4	11.6	1.3
Apr	59° / 39°	4.4	11.3	1.5	13.1	4.4
May	70° / 51°	5.4	13.3	0.1	14.4	6.0
Jun	79° / 61°	5.5	12.6	0	15.1	6.2
Jul	82° / 65°	3.7	10.1	0	14.8	6.2
Aug	80° / 62°	4.2	9.6	0	13.7	6.8
Sep	74° / 53°	3.4	8.3	0	12.3	7.2
Oct	61° / 41°	2.6	7.8	0.5	10.8	5.4
Nov	46° / 28°	1.9	6.3	2.6	9.6	1.3
Dec	32° / 17°	1.5	6	4.7	8.9	0.0

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 57%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	45	45	45	45	45	46	46	47	46	46	46	45	45	44	44	43	42	42	41	41	41	40	40	40	39	40	40	41	41	42	42
Cloudier (%)	55	55	55	55	55	54	54	53	54	54	54	55	55	56	56	57	58	58	59	59	59	60	60	60	61	60	60	59	59	58	58

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	45	55
2	45	55
3	45	55
4	45	55
5	45	55
6	46	54
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	46	54
10	46	54
11	46	54
12	45	55
13	45	55
14	44	56
15	44	56
16	43	57
17	42	58
18	42	58
19	41	59
20	41	59
21	41	59
22	40	60
23	40	60
24	40	60
25	39	61
26	40	60
27	40	60
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	42	58
31	42	58

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitationSnow

Fort Dodge gets around 2.4 in of rain and snow over 8.2 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 27% and peaks near 29% on the wettest days, and about 3 days bring snow.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	23	23	24	24	24	24	25	25	25	26	26	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	29	29	29
Snow chance (%)	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	11	11	10	10	10	9	9	8	8	8	7	7	6	6	6	6

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	23	15
2	23	15
3	24	15
4	24	14
5	24	14
6	24	14
7	25	14
8	25	13
9	25	13
10	26	13
11	26	13
12	27	13
13	27	12
14	27	12
15	27	12
16	27	11
17	27	11
18	27	10
19	27	10
20	27	10
21	27	9
22	28	9
23	28	8
24	28	8
25	28	8
26	28	7
27	28	7
28	28	6
29	29	6
30	29	6
31	29	6

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of March feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 99% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	99	99	99
Comfortable (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	98	2
26	98	2
27	98	2
28	98	2
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

Wind in March

Winds average 10 mph in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 10 mph on the calmest days to 11 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (mph)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (mph)	Feels
1	10	light breeze
2	10	light breeze
3	10	light breeze
4	10	light breeze
5	10	light breeze
6	10	light breeze
7	10	light breeze
8	10	light breeze
9	10	light breeze
10	10	light breeze
11	10	light breeze
12	10	light breeze
13	10	light breeze
14	10	light breeze
15	10	light breeze
16	10	light breeze
17	10	light breeze
18	10	light breeze
19	10	light breeze
20	10	light breeze
21	10	light breeze
22	10	light breeze
23	10	light breeze
24	10	light breeze
25	10	light breeze
26	10	light breeze
27	10	light breeze
28	10	light breeze
29	10	light breeze
30	10	light breeze
31	11	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 54 min at the start of March to 12 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 90 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 7:02 AM to 6:10 AM, and sunset from 5:57 PM to 6:33 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	10.9	11.0	11.0	11.1	11.1	11.2	11.2	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.4	11.4	11.5	11.5	11.6	11.6	11.7	11.7	11.8	11.8	11.9	11.9	12.0	12.0	12.1	12.1	12.2	12.2	12.3	12.3	12.4
Sunrise (AM)	7:02	7:01	6:59	6:58	6:56	6:54	6:53	6:51	6:49	6:47	6:46	6:44	6:42	6:41	6:39	6:37	6:35	6:33	6:32	6:30	6:28	6:26	6:25	6:23	6:21	6:19	6:17	6:16	6:14	6:12	6:10
Sunset (PM)	5:57	5:59	6:00	6:01	6:02	6:04	6:05	6:06	6:07	6:08	6:10	6:11	6:12	6:13	6:14	6:16	6:17	6:18	6:19	6:20	6:21	6:23	6:24	6:25	6:26	6:27	6:28	6:30	6:31	6:32	6:33

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.9	7:02	5:57
2	11.0	7:01	5:59
3	11.0	6:59	6:00
4	11.1	6:58	6:01
5	11.1	6:56	6:02
6	11.2	6:54	6:04
7	11.2	6:53	6:05
8	11.3	6:51	6:06
9	11.3	6:49	6:07
10	11.3	6:47	6:08
11	11.4	6:46	6:10
12	11.4	6:44	6:11
13	11.5	6:42	6:12
14	11.5	6:41	6:13
15	11.6	6:39	6:14
16	11.6	6:37	6:16
17	11.7	6:35	6:17
18	11.7	6:33	6:18
19	11.8	6:32	6:19
20	11.8	6:30	6:20
21	11.9	6:28	6:21
22	11.9	6:26	6:23
23	12.0	6:25	6:24
24	12.0	6:23	6:25
25	12.1	6:21	6:26
26	12.1	6:19	6:27
27	12.2	6:17	6:28
28	12.2	6:16	6:30
29	12.3	6:14	6:31
30	12.3	6:12	6:32
31	12.4	6:10	6:33

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 4.18 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.74 kWh/m² to a high of 6.46 kWh/m² in July across the year — March's 4.18 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	3.7	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.9	3.9	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.6
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.7	Moderate
2	3.8	Moderate
3	3.8	Moderate
4	3.8	Moderate
5	3.9	Moderate
6	3.9	Moderate
7	4.0	Moderate
8	4.0	Moderate
9	4.0	Bright
10	4.0	Bright
11	4.1	Bright
12	4.1	Bright
13	4.1	Bright
14	4.2	Bright
15	4.2	Bright
16	4.2	Bright
17	4.2	Bright
18	4.3	Bright
19	4.3	Bright
20	4.3	Bright
21	4.3	Bright
22	4.3	Bright
23	4.4	Bright
24	4.4	Bright
25	4.4	Bright
26	4.5	Bright
27	4.5	Bright
28	4.5	Bright
29	4.6	Bright
30	4.6	Bright
31	4.6	Bright

Planning a trip in March

Hazard calendar for Fort Dodge

In seasonPeak

None of Fort Dodge's seasonal hazards are active in March. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Fort Dodge's rainy season runs April–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is March a good time to visit Fort Dodge?

Our two travel scores rate March for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

1.3

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

9th-best month of the year

March is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Fort Dodge.

What to pack for Fort Dodge in March

From March's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In March, Fort Dodge sees daytime highs around 46°F and nights near 27°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 8 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Fort Dodge in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Fort Dodge peaks around June 19 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	2	2	4	6	7	9	8	7	6	4	2	2
Level	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	2	Low
Feb	2	Moderate
Mar	4	Moderate
Apr	6	High
May	7	High
Jun	9	Very high
Jul	8	Very high
Aug	7	Very high
Sep	6	High
Oct	4	Moderate
Nov	2	Moderate
Dec	2	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Fort Dodge?

Fort Dodge sits at 42.5°N, 94.2°W, 1,115 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Ames, 42 mi away.

Topography around Fort Dodge

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Fort Dodge.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Fort Dodge has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 226 ft around an average of 1,099 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 272 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 617 ft.

The land around Fort Dodge is covered by trees (37%), artificial surfaces (28%) and grassland (21%) within 2 miles, cropland (77%) within 10 miles, and cropland (90%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

226 ft

trees 37%

10 miles

272 ft

cropland 77%

50 miles

617 ft

cropland 90%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← February Fort Dodge year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

March weather nearby: Ames 42 mi · Ankeny 60 mi · Johnston 62 mi · Waukee 63 mi · Urbandale 65 mi · Clive 66 mi · Mason City 66 mi · West Des Moines 68 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs: Type A / B; 120 V · 60 Hz
Prices: ≈ 100% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $90,027; 2025
Happiness: 6.8 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 98%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 5.8; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 12.7; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Fort Dodge (42.4975°, -94.168°, elevation 1,115 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	37	20
2	37	20
3	38	20
4	38	21
5	39	21
6	39	22
7	40	22
8	41	23
9	41	23
10	42	24
11	43	24
12	43	25
13	44	26
14	45	26
15	45	27
16	46	27
17	46	28
18	47	28
19	47	29
20	48	29
21	49	30
22	49	30
23	50	31
24	50	31
25	51	31
26	51	32
27	52	32
28	52	32
29	53	33
30	53	33
31	53	33

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	45	55
2	45	55
3	45	55
4	45	55
5	45	55
6	46	54
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	46	54
10	46	54
11	46	54
12	45	55
13	45	55
14	44	56
15	44	56
16	43	57
17	42	58
18	42	58
19	41	59
20	41	59
21	41	59
22	40	60
23	40	60
24	40	60
25	39	61
26	40	60
27	40	60
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	42	58
31	42	58

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	23	15
2	23	15
3	24	15
4	24	14
5	24	14
6	24	14
7	25	14
8	25	13
9	25	13
10	26	13
11	26	13
12	27	13
13	27	12
14	27	12
15	27	12
16	27	11
17	27	11
18	27	10
19	27	10
20	27	10
21	27	9
22	28	9
23	28	8
24	28	8
25	28	8
26	28	7
27	28	7
28	28	6
29	29	6
30	29	6
31	29	6

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	98	2
26	98	2
27	98	2
28	98	2
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	37	20
2	37	20
3	38	20
4	38	21
5	39	21
6	39	22
7	40	22
8	41	23
9	41	23
10	42	24
11	43	24
12	43	25
13	44	26
14	45	26
15	45	27
16	46	27
17	46	28
18	47	28
19	47	29
20	48	29
21	49	30
22	49	30
23	50	31
24	50	31
25	51	31
26	51	32
27	52	32
28	52	32
29	53	33
30	53	33
31	53	33

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	45	55
2	45	55
3	45	55
4	45	55
5	45	55
6	46	54
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	46	54
10	46	54
11	46	54
12	45	55
13	45	55
14	44	56
15	44	56
16	43	57
17	42	58
18	42	58
19	41	59
20	41	59
21	41	59
22	40	60
23	40	60
24	40	60
25	39	61
26	40	60
27	40	60
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	42	58
31	42	58

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	23	15
2	23	15
3	24	15
4	24	14
5	24	14
6	24	14
7	25	14
8	25	13
9	25	13
10	26	13
11	26	13
12	27	13
13	27	12
14	27	12
15	27	12
16	27	11
17	27	11
18	27	10
19	27	10
20	27	10
21	27	9
22	28	9
23	28	8
24	28	8
25	28	8
26	28	7
27	28	7
28	28	6
29	29	6
30	29	6
31	29	6

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	98	2
26	98	2
27	98	2
28	98	2
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	37	20
2	37	20
3	38	20
4	38	21
5	39	21
6	39	22
7	40	22
8	41	23
9	41	23
10	42	24
11	43	24
12	43	25
13	44	26
14	45	26
15	45	27
16	46	27
17	46	28
18	47	28
19	47	29
20	48	29
21	49	30
22	49	30
23	50	31
24	50	31
25	51	31
26	51	32
27	52	32
28	52	32
29	53	33
30	53	33
31	53	33

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	45	55
2	45	55
3	45	55
4	45	55
5	45	55
6	46	54
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	46	54
10	46	54
11	46	54
12	45	55
13	45	55
14	44	56
15	44	56
16	43	57
17	42	58
18	42	58
19	41	59
20	41	59
21	41	59
22	40	60
23	40	60
24	40	60
25	39	61
26	40	60
27	40	60
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	42	58
31	42	58

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	23	15
2	23	15
3	24	15
4	24	14
5	24	14
6	24	14
7	25	14
8	25	13
9	25	13
10	26	13
11	26	13
12	27	13
13	27	12
14	27	12
15	27	12
16	27	11
17	27	11
18	27	10
19	27	10
20	27	10
21	27	9
22	28	9
23	28	8
24	28	8
25	28	8
26	28	7
27	28	7
28	28	6
29	29	6
30	29	6
31	29	6

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	98	2
26	98	2
27	98	2
28	98	2
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1