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

Lime Springs

467 people, 1,250 ft above sea level in Howard County.

1,250 ftElevation, city center
467People, 2024 estimate
1 sq miLand area
Clear 37°
Clear now Dew point 25° · Calm · high 36°
City of Lime Springs River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Lime Springs 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 Lime Springs

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 5:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Decorah (KDEH) · 6:35 PM
Clear
37° Clear Feels like 37° · high of 36° near 6 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity60%rising to 100% by morning
Pressure30.28 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 25° · Dry36° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday70% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 50.01 in · 9 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Howard County
NWS La Crosse and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 6:45 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:01 AM4:45 PM ↓
9 h 44 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
26
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: None, 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
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
clear day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
36°
25°
46°
30°
49°
37°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
2
4
5
6
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8
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11
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 24 to 36° More humid: 36° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
36° 25°
0% rain — WSW 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
49° 30°
0% rain — SSW 1 A
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
51° 37°
0% rain — SSW 9 A
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
55° 42°
0% rain — S 9 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
56° 48°
20% rain — S 12 B
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
58° 42°
20% rain — W 3 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
58° 51°
70% rain up to 0.5″ SSE 8 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 Lime Springs about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Canadian Prairies three days ago, and over the northern Plains a day ago, about 920 miles back along its path. The nine paths traced from around the city fan out, so treat that as a best guess. It rose from near the ground on the way. 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 1999 Nov. 14, 1999

The hottest this week has been

72° on Nov. 14, 1999, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1952. Next is 72° in 2012.

72°
72°
20121999
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Preston record since 1952.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Lime Springs stands on

Lime Springs’s center stands about 1,250 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,190 ft to 1,300 ft, a difference of 110 ft: gently rolling country.

The section below crosses 5 rock units mapped at the surface.

Riceville to Harmony, cut in half

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
1,100 ft1,200 ft1,300 ft LIME SPRINGS1,250 ftHigh point of the line1,370 ftUpper Iowa Riverabout 1,130 ft ← W · RicevilleHarmony · 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

Cedar Valley Group

Limestone, dolostone. Age: Middle Devonian to Late Devonian, 374 to 388 million years old. About 10 mi of the line.

Wapsipinicon Group

Dolostone, limestone. Age: Middle Devonian, 384 to 394 million years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Maquoketa formation

Shale, dolostone. Age: Late Ordovician, 447 to 454 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

Upper Ordovician

Limestone, dolostone. Age: Late Ordovician, 445 to 459 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Galena Group and Platteville Formation

Dolostone, limestone. Age: Late Ordovician, 447 to 459 million years old. About 1 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 Lime Springs’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Lime Springs reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Upper Iowa and the Mississippi: about 1,770 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Lime Springs≈ 1,770 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF LIME SPRINGS ≈ 1,770 mi to the Gulf of America Upper Iowa → Mississippi

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

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Lime Springs’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1952 · Preston, 19 mi northeast

Lime Springs has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 81° in July; winter nights fall to about 4° in January. A normal year brings about 42 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 37 inches of water.

24°4°28°8°41°21°55°32°68°44°78°54°81°58°79°56°73°47°59°35°43°23°29°12° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY LIME SPRINGS 36.8 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average81° / 58°high / low, the warmest month
January, average24° / 4°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow36.8 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year42.2 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record101°FAugust 24, 2023
Coldest on record−45°FFebruary 1, 2019
Wettest day on record7.30 inJuly 11, 1981
Snowiest day on record14.3 inMarch 18, 2005
90° days a year7very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°164and 68 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfb

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Sept. 30, to the last in spring, about May 15 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingDec. 7 to Feb. 26; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingOct. 22 to April 16; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 14.6 of the year’s 36.8 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Lime Springs normally reaches 43° and falls to 24°. The record high is 72°, in 1999; the record low −4°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 0.30 in, fell in 2010.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high24°28°41°55°68°78°81°79°73°59°43°29°
Normal low4°8°21°32°44°54°58°56°47°35°23°12°
Rain and melt, in1.091.182.003.844.525.954.174.293.682.731.891.44
Snow, inches11.08.27.52.50.30.00.00.00.00.32.69.8
Record high58° (2025)70° (2024)83° (2025)91° (1980)94° (2013)100° (1988)101° (2012)101° (2023)98° (2023)92° (1997)76° (1999)63° (2021)
Record low−44° (2019)−45° (2019)−35° (1962)−8° (1982)18° (2020)31° (1987)35° (1988)30° (1967)19° (1967)7° (2022)−19° (1977)−35° (1983)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1952 at Preston, 19 miles northeast, 320 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Lime Springs on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Austin MN · 38 MI 38 miles northwest St. Paul MN · 111 MI 111 miles north Minneapolis MN · 115 MI 115 miles northwest Madison WI · 146 MI 146 miles east Rockford IL · 183 MI 183 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Lime Springs, Iowa. Explore the plate
IOWA · HOWARD

Lime Springs

467 people, 1,250 ft above sea level in Howard County.

1,250 ftElevation
467People
1 sq miLand
Clear 37°
ClearDew point 25°
1

Today in Lime Springs

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear night 36° 0%
9p clear night 31° 0%
12a partly cloudy night 27° 0%
3a mostly cloudy night 26° 0%
6a partly cloudy night 25° 0%
9a partly cloudy day 32° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 70%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
25
36
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
30
49
A
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
37
51
A
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
42
55
A
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
48
56
B
Thu20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
42
58
C
Fri70%
Showers likely Showers likely
51
58
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1999 · NOV. 14, 1999

72°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1952.

2

What Lime Springs stands on

Lime Springs’s center stands about 1,250 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,190 ft to 1,300 ft, a difference of 110 ft: gently rolling country.

Lime Springs, west to east Lime Springs1,250 ftHigh point1,370 ftUpper Iowa Riverabout 1,130 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,250 ft
Within 3 miles1,190 to 1,300 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (110 ft of relief)
5

Lime Springs’s year

Lime Springs has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 81° in July; winter nights fall to about 4° in January. A normal year brings about 42 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 37 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 36.8 in
July, average81° / 58° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average24° / 4° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow36.8 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year42.2 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record101°F · August 24, 2023
Coldest on record−45°F · February 1, 2019
Wettest day on record7.30 in · July 11, 1981
Snowiest day on record14.3 in · March 18, 2005
90° days a year7 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°164 · and 68 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfb
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Sept. 30, to the last in spring, about May 15 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Dec. 7 to Feb. 26; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Oct. 22 to April 16; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 14.6 of the year’s 36.8 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Lime Springs normally reaches 43° and falls to 24°. The record high is 72°, in 1999; the record low −4°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 0.30 in, fell in 2010.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1952 at Preston, 19 miles northeast, 320 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,770 mito the Gulf of AmericaUpper Iowa → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Lime Springs reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Upper Iowa and the Mississippi: about 1,770 river miles.