Indianola in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Indianola sees average daytime highs around 34°F and overnight lows near 18°F, with 4.5 in of precipitation over about 19 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 34°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Indianola's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Indianola's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
34°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
18°F
Precipitation
4.5 in
19 wet days
Avg wind
10 mph
Travel score
0.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Indianola in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 34°F.

A typical winter day in Indianola reaches about 34°F and drops to 18°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

20°40°60°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Indianola

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 90 that feel at or below 32°F.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
90
87 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

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

Indianola weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan31° / 15°1.26.14.49.40.0
Feb35° / 19°1.66.64.610.30.0
Mar49° / 30°2.792.511.72.0
Apr61° / 41°4.311.2113.14.9
May71° / 53°5.313.20.114.36.1
Jun81° / 63°4.911.6014.96.1
Jul84° / 67°3.89.8014.75.6
Aug83° / 64°3.59.4013.76.4
Sep76° / 55°3.68.3012.37.2
Oct63° / 43°2.87.80.310.95.8
Nov48° / 31°2.16.81.49.72.0
Dec36° / 20°1.663.79.10.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Indianola gets around 4.5 in of rain and snow over 19 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 10 mph across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 12 min in early December to 10 h 54 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.4 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Indianola?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

0.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Indianola.

What to pack for Indianola in Winter

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

In winter, Indianola sees daytime highs around 34°F and nights near 18°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 19 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Indianola in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Indianola peaks around June 20 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 20UV 9Dec 21UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May7High
Jun10Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Air quality in Indianola in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Indianola is worst in July — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.3× the cleanest month (October, 7 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodModerateGoodJul 1915 µg/m³Oct 217 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan12Moderate
Feb14Moderate
Mar13Moderate
Apr10Good
May11Good
Jun12Moderate
Jul16Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep12Good
Oct7Good
Nov8Good
Dec10Good
Location & terrain

Where is Indianola?

Indianola sits at 41.4°N, 93.6°W, 968 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Des Moines, 17 mi away.

Topography around Indianola

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Indianola has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 190 ft around an average of 912 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 305 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 741 ft.

The land around Indianola is covered by grassland (34%), trees (25%) and cropland (24%) within 2 miles, cropland (43%), grassland (30%) and trees (25%) within 10 miles, and cropland (53%) and grassland (26%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
190 ft
10 miles
305 ft
50 miles
741 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Des Moines 17 mi · West Des Moines 17 mi · Clive 19 mi · Urbandale 21 mi · Altoona 21 mi · Johnston 23 mi · Waukee 24 mi · Ankeny 26 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
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

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 Indianola (41.358°, -93.5574°, elevation 968 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.