Past IEM Features tagged: statefair
Fair Weather Heat
22 Aug 2022 05:30 AMWhile the Iowa State Fair got off to a hot start two weeks ago, very pleasant weather dominated most of the ten day event outside of some downpours on the second Friday afternoon. The featured chart presents an IEM calculated frequency of hourly temperature readings of at least 80 degrees during the days of the fair each year based on Des Moines Airport readings. The 2022 total comes in well below the simple long term average and lowest total since 2014. Attendance numbers for the fair were certainly helped by this nice weather with the last Saturday setting a single day attendance record for the event.
Voting:
Good: 8
Bad: 0
Tags: statefair
Dry* Fair
23 Aug 2021 05:29 AMAfter a hiatus last year due to COVID-19, the Iowa State Fair wrapped up a rather remarkable 10 days of weather on Sunday. Without a known and public available dataset of on-site fair weather, the Des Moines Airport weather station can be used as a proxy to fair weather. The featured chart presents the accumulated precipitation during the fair dates each year. The 2021 total was zero, joining five other years without any measurable precipitation. It is unclear though if the actual precipitation total at the fair site (a number of miles east of the airport) was zero as precipitation events on the first day and Friday night may have produced measurable rainfall. Regardless, temperatures were very pleasant also for most of the fair with only a few days of really muggy conditions.
Voting:
Good: 13
Bad: 1
Tags: statefair
80s for the fair
23 Aug 2017 05:36 AMThe Iowa State Fair came to a close on Sunday and set an attendance record at over 1,130,000 people. The weather certainly cooperated for much of the fair. The featured chart displays the percentage of hours for each year's fair that the temperature was at or above 80 degrees between 7 am and 10 pm. This year's total came in at just about average, but quite lower than 2016. These values are based on hourly reports from the Des Moines Airport. 2004 shows up as the least number of hours and 1983 as the most for this chart.
Voting:
Good: 10
Bad: 0
Tags: statefair
Cool Fair Weather
24 Aug 2015 05:35 AMThe Iowa State Fair wrapped up on Sunday and after a warm first few days, the weather turned much cooler. The featured chart displays the yearly average high and low temperature at the fair using the Des Moines Airport weather data as a proxy for the fair weather. The average high this year is one of the cooler in the past few decades. The color of the bars present years that were above (red) or below (blue) long term average for each plotted metric.
Voting:
Good: 13
Bad: 3
Abstain: 4
Tags: statefair
Cool 2014 Fair
19 Aug 2014 05:43 AMThe Iowa State Fair ended on Sunday. The eleven day event had amazing weather with the featured chart showing the average daily high and low temperature for the period based on Des Moines Airport data. The average high was in the mid 70s and low near 60, which makes for the third year in a row with cool weather for the fair. The heat and humidity waited until the fair ended to make its first major appearance this summer with conditions warming up until this coming weeking.
Voting:
Good: 11
Bad: 6
Abstain: 4
Tags: statefair
Fair Fair Weather
19 Aug 2013 05:41 AMThe Iowa State Fair wrapped up on Sunday with ten days of near perfect weather. Humidity levels were low, temperatures were in the low 80s for most days, and a northerly breeze blew. The featured chart looks at the weather reported by the Des Moines weather station for the period of the Iowa State Fair back to 1880. This year was actually slightly warmer than last year for both high and low temperature! You may recall that after a brutally hot July in 2012, the period of the fair was very pleasant. The forecast has heat and humidity building back this week.
Voting:
Good: 64
Bad: 9
Tags: statefair
Cool State Fair
20 Aug 2012 05:44 AMDuring the blistering hot month of July, some wondered just how bad it would be for the state fair in August! Turns out, the weather was some of the coolest seen in the recent decade. The featured chart presents the simple daily average high and low temperature for each state fair period back to 1880. Some of the years are blank due to there being no fair that year. Years above long term average are in red and below are blue. The cool weather certainly boosted attendance and made the week more bearable for the carny folk.
Voting:
Good: 37
Bad: 7
Tags: statefair
Rain at the State Fair
19 Aug 2011 05:57 AMThe Iowa State Fair ends this weekend and has seen about an inch of rainfall so far, which is close to long term average for the Fair. The featured chart presents the yearly rainfall totals during the fair and the frequency of having five hundredths or more of rainfall on a given day. The smallest value is on day three with a less than one in five chance. 1977 was the wettest year at over eight inches. This data is from the Des Moines weather station, which is not located at the fair, but should be a close approximation.
Voting:
Good: 20
Bad: 4
Tags: statefair
Fair, Fair Weather
18 Aug 2011 05:23 AMThe Iowa State Fair will end this weekend and the weather so far has been better than "butter on a stick". The high temperature on Wednesday was the warmest so far at 88, but dew points were very comfortable. The top featured chart looks at the warmest temperature reported by the Des Moines sensor during past state fairs. The bottom chart presents the number of hours during the fair that the heat index was over 90 based on hourly data from the Des Moines Airport. This year has yet to see such a reading, which has helped to boost fair attendance. There are chances of rain in the forecast, but temperatures will remain on the cool side of average.
Voting:
Good: 7
Bad: 4
Tags: statefair
Great stretch for the fair
18 Aug 2008 06:31 AMThis year's Iowa State Fair goers had great weather almost every day with the warmest highs only in the low 80s. If you are interested in fair time weather, the Des Moines NWS office put together an interesting study on the climatology of the state fair.
Voting:
Good: 17
Bad: 15
Tags: statefair
Good weather for the Fair
15 Aug 2006 06:31 AMUsually the Iowa State Fair is accompanied by very hot and muggy weather, but this year temperatures have been very pleasant and the humidities comfortable. The forecast for the rest of the fair looks to continue this trend with highs in the low 80s and lows near 60. Only chances of storms could put a damper on the festivities.
Voting:
Good: 7
Bad: 5
Tags: statefair
Great Fair Weather
15 Aug 2005 07:24 AMWith high temperatures this past weekend in the 70s and forecasted highs today barely above 80, it is hard to get any better weather for the Iowa State Fair. Cool temperatures and some chances for showers can be expected for the rest of this week.
Voting:
Good: 9
Bad: 2
Tags: statefair
Iowa State Fair Cam
05 Aug 2003 07:30 AMThe KCCI SchoolNet8 has added a weather station at the Iowa State Fair with a web camera! Check out this page for current conditions and a live look at the fairgrounds.
Tags: statefair