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

Middletown

365 people, 730 ft above sea level in Des Moines County.

730 ftElevation, city center
365People, 2024 estimate
1 sq miLand area
Clear 41°
Clear now Dew point 25° · N 3 mph · high 38°
City of Middletown River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Middletown 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 Middletown

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 5:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Burlington Regional Airport (KBRL) · 4:53 PM
Clear
41° Clear Feels like 39° · high of 38° near 5 PM
WindN 3 mphno gusts
Humidity53%rising to 88% by morning
Pressure30.30 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 25° · Dry35° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Partly cloudy
Friday30% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 50.06 in · 9 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Des Moines County
NWS Quad Cities and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 5:45 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:50 AM4:48 PM ↓
9 h 57 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
69
MODERATEAir quality index · fine particles
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
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
clear day
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear day
clear day
partly cloudy day
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
clear day
clear day
clear day
TEMPERATURE °F
38°
28°
49°
31°
52°
35°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
0
0
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0
0
0
0
0
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0
3
7
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 25 to 35°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 50° / 33°
SAT Nov. 14 Sunny Sunny
38° 27°
0% rain — NW 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Partly cloudy; warmer Partly cloudy; warmer
51° 29°
0% rain — N 0 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
54° 34°
0% rain — SSW 5 A
TUE Nov. 17 Sunny Sunny
57° 38°
0% rain — SSE 8 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
59° 48°
20% rain — S 12 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
62° 46°
20% rain — W 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
63° 52°
30% rain — SSE 10 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 Middletown about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Gulf of Alaska three days ago, and over the central Plains a day ago, about 2,670 miles back along its path. It came down from about 16,000 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from the Canadian Prairies; at 10,000 feet, from British Columbia. It feels dry all the same. 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

0° on Nov. 17, 1959, the coldest reading for this week of the year since 1897. Next is 4° in 1940.

4°
0°
19401959
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Burlington Area threaded record since 1897.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Middletown stands on

Middletown’s center stands about 730 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 650 ft to 750 ft, a difference of 100 ft: gently rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Augusta Group (dolostone, limestone), from the Early Mississippian to Middle Mississippian, 331 to 359 million years old.

The section below crosses 4 rock units mapped at the surface.

Dallas City to Yarmouth, cut in half

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
500 ft600 ft700 ft800 ft MIDDLETOWN730 ftLow point510 ftSkunk Riverabout 530 ftHigh point of the line820 ft ← S · Dallas CityYarmouth · N →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 62×. 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

Famennian formations

Shale, siltstone. Age: Late Devonian, 359 to 374 million years old. About 10 mi of the line.

Augusta Group

Dolostone, limestone. Age: Early Mississippian to Middle Mississippian, 331 to 359 million years old. About 9 mi of the line.

St. Louis and Pella Formations

Dolostone, limestone. Age: Middle Mississippian to Late Mississippian, 324 to 347 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Kinderhookian formations

Dolostone, limestone, siltstone. Age: Early Mississippian, 347 to 359 million years old. About 2 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 Middletown’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Middletown reaches the Gulf of America by way of Little Flint Creek, Flint Creek and the Mississippi: about 1,390 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Middletown≈ 1,390 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF MIDDLETOWN ≈ 1,390 mi to the Gulf of America Little Flint Creek → Flint Creek → Mississippi

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

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Middletown’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1897 · Burlington Municipal Airport, 8 mi east-southeast

Middletown has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 85° in July; winter nights fall to about 16° in January. About 38 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

32°16°37°21°50°31°63°42°73°53°82°63°85°66°83°64°78°56°65°44°50°32°37°22° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY MIDDLETOWN 37.9 in rain a year
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average85° / 66°high / low, the warmest month
January, average32° / 16°high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year37.9 inwettest months: May and June
Hottest on record111°FJuly 15, 1936
Coldest on record−27°FFebruary 13, 1905
Wettest day on record6.28 inJune 29, 1933
Snowiest day on record13.5 inJanuary 26, 1967
90° days a year23very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°119and 38 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 17, to the last in spring, about April 14 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingJan. 6 to Jan. 27; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingNov. 15 to March 20; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 13.8 of the year’s 37.9 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Middletown normally reaches 50° and falls to 33°. The record high is 75°, in 1964; the record low 6°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 1.26 in, fell in 1968.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high32°37°50°63°73°82°85°83°78°65°50°37°
Normal low16°21°31°42°53°63°66°64°56°44°32°22°
Rain, inches1.451.692.433.924.934.874.023.773.533.092.291.87
Record high70° (1989)77° (2024)88° (1986)93° (1930)103° (1934)105° (1934)111° (1936)110° (1934)103° (1913)95° (2006)86° (1899)73° (2021)
Record low−24° (1957)−27° (1905)−13° (1960)11° (1982)26° (1907)39° (1913)46° (1971)41° (1950)23° (1899)10° (1925)−2° (1991)−22° (1989)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1897 from the Burlington Area threaded record (Burlington Municipal Airport, 8 miles east-southeast). NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Middletown on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Burlington IA · 7 MI 7 miles east Cedar Rapids IA · 81 MI 81 miles north Des Moines IA · 133 MI 133 miles northwest St. Louis MO · 161 MI 161 miles south Joliet IL · 169 MI 169 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Middletown, Iowa. Explore the plate
IOWA · DES MOINES

Middletown

365 people, 730 ft above sea level in Des Moines County.

730 ftElevation
365People
1 sq miLand
Clear 41°
ClearDew point 25°
1

Today in Middletown

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear night 38° 0%
8p clear night 34° 0%
11p clear night 32° 0%
2a clear night 30° 0%
5a partly cloudy night 28° 0%
8a partly cloudy day 31° 0%
Partly cloudy
NEXT RAINFriday · 30%
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
27
38
A
Sun0%
Partly cloudy; warmer Partly cloudy; warmer
29
51
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
34
54
A
Tue0%
Sunny Sunny
38
57
A
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
48
59
B
Thu20%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
46
62
C
Fri30%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
52
63
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

0°, the coldest this week of the year has been since 1897.

2

What Middletown stands on

Middletown’s center stands about 730 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 650 ft to 750 ft, a difference of 100 ft: gently rolling country.

Middletown, south to north Middletown730 ftSkunk Riverabout 530 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 119×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center730 ft
Within 3 miles650 to 750 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (100 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceAugusta Group
Its ageEarly Mississippian to Middle Mississippian, 331 to 359 million years old
5

Middletown’s year

Middletown has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 85° in July; winter nights fall to about 16° in January. About 38 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 37.9 in
July, average85° / 66° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average32° / 16° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year37.9 in · wettest months: May and June
Hottest on record111°F · July 15, 1936
Coldest on record−27°F · February 13, 1905
Wettest day on record6.28 in · June 29, 1933
Snowiest day on record13.5 in · January 26, 1967
90° days a year23 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°119 · and 38 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 17, to the last in spring, about April 14 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Jan. 6 to Jan. 27; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Nov. 15 to March 20; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 13.8 of the year’s 37.9 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Middletown normally reaches 50° and falls to 33°. The record high is 75°, in 1964; the record low 6°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 1.26 in, fell in 1968.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1897 from the Burlington Area threaded record (Burlington Municipal Airport, 8 miles east-southeast). NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,390 mito the Gulf of AmericaLittle Flint Creek → Flint Creek → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Middletown reaches the Gulf of America by way of Little Flint Creek, Flint Creek and the Mississippi: about 1,390 river miles.