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Shaded-relief map of Ainsworth, Iowa: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
IOWA · WASHINGTON COUNTY

Ainsworth

511 people, 730 ft above sea level in Washington County.

730 ftElevation, city center
511People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Sunny 45°
Sunny now Dew point 27° · N 3 mph · high 45°
City of Ainsworth River Interstate 2 miles
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The Ainsworth plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Ainsworth

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 12:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Washington (KAWG) · 1:35 PM
Sunny
45° Sunny Feels like 43° · high of 45° near 3 PM
WindN 3 mphno gusts
Humidity49%falling to 51% this afternoon
Pressure30.28 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 27° · Dry40° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Showers
Friday50% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 80.01 in · 6 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Washington County
NWS Quad Cities and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 1:45 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:53 AM4:48 PM ↓
9 h 55 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
25
GOODAir quality index · ozone
Tomorrow: 40, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
1p
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clear day
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
44°
26°
48°
28°
52°
35°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
0
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 26 to 40° More humid: 37° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 49° / 28°
SAT Nov. 14 Sunny Sunny
45° 25°
0% rain — W 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
50° 27°
0% rain — ENE 0 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
54° 34°
0% rain — SSW 7 A
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
56° 38°
0% rain — SSE 9 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
59° 48°
20% rain — S 13 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
61° 45°
20% rain — W 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
62° 52°
50% rain up to 0.2″ SE 9 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Ainsworth about 5,000 feet above the ground was over British Columbia three days ago, about 2,290 miles back along its path. It came down from about 14,800 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from the Canadian Prairies; at 10,000 feet, from the central Plains. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1959 Nov. 17, 1959

The coldest this week has been

−3° on Nov. 17, 1959, the coldest reading for this week of the year since 1893. Next is 1° in 1940.

1°
−3°
19401959
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Washington record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Ainsworth stands on

Ainsworth’s center stands about 730 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 660 ft to 760 ft, a difference of 100 ft: gently rolling country.

The section below crosses 6 rock units mapped at the surface.

Ainsworth, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
600 ft700 ft AINSWORTH730 ftHigh point of the line760 ftWashington760 ftColumbus Junction660 ft ← WFredonia · E →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 64×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Augusta Group

Dolostone, limestone. Age: Early Mississippian to Middle Mississippian, 331 to 359 million years old. About 13 mi of the line.

Famennian formations

Shale, siltstone. Age: Late Devonian, 359 to 374 million years old. About 7 mi of the line.

Lower Cherokee Group and Raccoon Creek Group

Shale, sandstone, siltstone. Age: Early Pennsylvanian to Middle Pennsylvanian, 307 to 324 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Cedar Valley Group

Limestone, dolostone. Age: Middle Devonian to Late Devonian, 374 to 388 million years old. About 1 mi of the line.

Lime Creek Formation

Shale, limestone, dolostone. Age: Late Devonian, 374 to 384 million years old. About 1.0 mi of the line.

Kinderhookian formations

Dolostone, limestone, siltstone. Age: Early Mississippian, 347 to 359 million years old. About 0.4 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Ainsworth’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Ainsworth reaches the Gulf of America by way of North Fork Long Creek, Long Creek, the Iowa and the Mississippi: about 1,460 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Ainsworth≈ 1,460 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF AINSWORTH ≈ 1,460 mi to the Gulf of America North Fork Long Creek → Long Creek → Iowa → Mississippi

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Ainsworth; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Ainsworth’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Washington, 8 mi west

Ainsworth has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 85° in July; winter nights fall to about 12° in January. A normal year brings about 25 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 38 inches of water.

30°12°35°16°48°27°62°38°72°50°81°60°85°63°83°61°77°51°64°40°49°28°36°18° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY AINSWORTH 37.9 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average85° / 63°high / low, the warmest month
January, average30° / 12°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow37.9 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year25.2 insnowiest: February
Hottest on record113°FJuly 15, 1936
Coldest on record−32°FJanuary 16, 2009
Wettest day on record7.35 inAugust 3, 1943
Snowiest day on record15.5 inJanuary 25, 1898
90° days a year20very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°140and 45 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 13, to the last in spring, about April 21 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingDec. 25 to Feb. 7; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingNov. 4 to April 2; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 14.4 of the year’s 37.9 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Ainsworth normally reaches 49° and falls to 28°. The record high is 76°, in 1999; the record low 3°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 1.13 in, fell in 1951.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high30°35°48°62°72°81°85°83°77°64°49°36°
Normal low12°16°27°38°50°60°63°61°51°40°28°18°
Rain and melt, in1.251.562.323.655.115.174.134.183.603.032.231.71
Snow, inches7.58.12.30.80.00.00.00.00.00.41.44.7
Record high70° (1989)80° (2024)89° (2026)94° (1930)103° (1934)107° (1936)113° (1936)109° (1930)102° (1933)96° (1938)82° (2016)74° (2021)
Record low−32° (2009)−29° (1905)−16° (1962)7° (1899)23° (2005)35° (1903)45° (2008)39° (1915)23° (1942)6° (1925)−7° (1898)−25° (1924)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Washington, 8 miles west. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Ainsworth on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Iowa City IA · 25 MI 25 miles north Coralville IA · 28 MI 28 miles north Des Moines IA · 108 MI 108 miles west Aurora IL · 172 MI 172 miles east Naperville IL · 179 MI 179 miles east St. Louis MO · 196 MI 196 miles south
FORECASTCITY
Map of Ainsworth, Iowa. Explore the plate
IOWA · WASHINGTON

Ainsworth

511 people, 730 ft above sea level in Washington County.

730 ftElevation
511People
0 sq miLand
Sunny 45°
SunnyDew point 27°
1

Today in Ainsworth

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear day 44° 0%
4p clear day 44° 0%
7p clear night 35° 0%
10p clear night 31° 0%
1a mostly clear night 28° 0%
4a partly cloudy night 27° 0%
Showers
NEXT RAINFriday · 50%
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
25
45
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
27
50
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
34
54
A
Tue0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38
56
A
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
48
59
B
Thu20%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
45
61
C
Fri50%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
52
62
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1959 · NOV. 17, 1959

−3°, the coldest this week of the year has been since 1893.

2

What Ainsworth stands on

Ainsworth’s center stands about 730 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 660 ft to 760 ft, a difference of 100 ft: gently rolling country.

Ainsworth, west to east Ainsworth730 ftHigh point760 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center730 ft
Within 3 miles660 to 760 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (100 ft of relief)
5

Ainsworth’s year

Ainsworth has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 85° in July; winter nights fall to about 12° in January. A normal year brings about 25 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 38 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 37.9 in
July, average85° / 63° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average30° / 12° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow37.9 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year25.2 in · snowiest: February
Hottest on record113°F · July 15, 1936
Coldest on record−32°F · January 16, 2009
Wettest day on record7.35 in · August 3, 1943
Snowiest day on record15.5 in · January 25, 1898
90° days a year20 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°140 · and 45 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 13, to the last in spring, about April 21 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Dec. 25 to Feb. 7; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Nov. 4 to April 2; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 14.4 of the year’s 37.9 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Ainsworth normally reaches 49° and falls to 28°. The record high is 76°, in 1999; the record low 3°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 1.13 in, fell in 1951.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Washington, 8 miles west. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,460 mito the Gulf of AmericaNorth Fork Long Creek → Long Creek → Iowa → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Ainsworth reaches the Gulf of America by way of North Fork Long Creek, Long Creek, the Iowa and the Mississippi: about 1,460 river miles.