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

Nashua

1,515 people, 1,000 ft above sea level in Chickasaw County.

1,000 ftElevation, city center
1,515People, 2024 estimate
3 sq miLand area
Sunny 43°
Sunny now Dew point 25° · S 3 mph · high 40°
City of Nashua River Interstate 2 miles
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The Nashua 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 Nashua

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 3:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Charles City (KCCY) · 3:35 PM
Sunny
43° Sunny Feels like 41° · high of 40° near 3 PM
WindS 3 mphno gusts
Humidity49%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. 50.02 in · 9 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Chickasaw County
NWS La Crosse and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 3:45 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:01 AM4:48 PM ↓
9 h 47 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
51
MODERATEAir quality index · coarse particles
Tomorrow: 49, 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
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clear day
mostly clear night
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partly cloudy night
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partly cloudy day
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partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
clear day
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
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TEMPERATURE °F
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CHANCE OF RAIN
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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 Sunny Sunny
40° 25°
0% rain — S 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Partly cloudy; warmer Partly cloudy; warmer
48° 29°
0% rain — S 4 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
52° 37°
0% rain — SSW 11 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
55° 41°
0% rain — S 13 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
56° 47°
20% rain — S 14 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
57° 41°
20% rain — WNW 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
58° 50°
70% rain 0.01–0.7″ SSE 12 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 Nashua about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Canadian Prairies three days ago, and over the central Plains a day ago, about 1,050 miles back along its path. Near the ground the air came from British Columbia; at 10,000 feet, from the northern Rockies. 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. 13, 1999

The hottest this week has been

73° on Nov. 13, 1999, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1893. Next is 72° in 1941.

72°
73°
19411999
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Charles City record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Nashua stands on

Nashua’s center stands about 1,000 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 950 ft to 1,080 ft, a difference of 130 ft: gently rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Cedar Valley Group (limestone, dolostone), from the Middle Devonian to Late Devonian, 374 to 388 million years old.

The section below crosses 2 rock units mapped at the surface.

Nashua, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
900 ft1,000 ft1,100 ft NASHUA1,000 ftPlainfield940 ftCedar Riverabout 930 ftLittle Cedar Riverabout 1,020 ft ← SN →

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 21 mi of the line.

Wapsipinicon Group

Dolostone, limestone. Age: Middle Devonian, 384 to 394 million years old. About 3 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 Nashua’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Nashua reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Cedar River, the Iowa and the Mississippi: about 1,650 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Nashua≈ 1,650 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF NASHUA ≈ 1,650 mi to the Gulf of America Cedar River → Iowa → Mississippi

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

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Nashua’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Charles City, 10 mi northwest

Nashua has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about 9° in January. A normal year brings about 38 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 38 inches of water.

24°9°30°13°43°25°58°37°70°48°79°59°82°62°80°60°73°51°60°39°44°26°30°15° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY NASHUA 37.7 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average82° / 62°high / low, the warmest month
January, average24° / 9°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow37.7 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year37.5 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record108°FJuly 21, 1901
Coldest on record−34°FJanuary 16, 2009
Wettest day on record6.66 inJuly 26, 1940
Snowiest day on record13.0 inJanuary 4, 1971
90° days a year10none reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°153and 64 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 4, to the last in spring, about May 2 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingDec. 8 to Feb. 23; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingNov. 1 to April 3; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 16.1 of the year’s 37.7 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Nashua normally reaches 44° and falls to 27°. The record high is 70°, in 1964; the record low −4°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 2.20 in, fell in 1902.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high24°30°43°58°70°79°82°80°73°60°44°30°
Normal low9°13°25°37°48°59°62°60°51°39°26°15°
Rain and melt, in1.011.141.933.735.066.134.924.283.822.581.741.38
Snow, inches9.59.35.42.10.30.00.00.00.00.12.88.0
Record high63° (2002)65° (1981)86° (1895)94° (1980)104° (1934)105° (1934)108° (1901)104° (1988)100° (1939)95° (1963)78° (1999)68° (2021)
Record low−34° (2009)−32° (1996)−32° (1962)3° (1982)20° (1907)34° (1903)39° (1899)34° (1915)19° (1899)1° (1925)−14° (1977)−29° (2000)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Charles City, 10 miles northwest. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Nashua on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Cedar Falls IA · 30 MI 30 miles south Waterloo IA · 33 MI 33 miles south Des Moines IA · 110 MI 110 miles southwest St. Paul MN · 141 MI 141 miles north Minneapolis MN · 144 MI 144 miles north Madison WI · 158 MI 158 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Nashua, Iowa. Explore the plate
IOWA · CHICKASAW

Nashua

1,515 people, 1,000 ft above sea level in Chickasaw County.

1,000 ftElevation
1,515People
3 sq miLand
Sunny 43°
SunnyDew point 25°
1

Today in Nashua

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear day 40° 0%
6p clear night 36° 0%
9p mostly clear night 30° 0%
12a partly cloudy night 27° 0%
3a partly cloudy night 25° 0%
6a partly cloudy night 25° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 70%
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
25
40
A
Sun0%
Partly cloudy; warmer Partly cloudy; warmer
29
48
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
37
52
B
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
41
55
A
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
47
56
B
Thu20%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
41
57
C
Fri70%
Showers likely Showers likely
50
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. 13, 1999

73°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1893.

2

What Nashua stands on

Nashua’s center stands about 1,000 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 950 ft to 1,080 ft, a difference of 130 ft: gently rolling country.

Nashua, south to north Nashua1,000 ftCedar Riverabout 930 ftLittle Cedar Riverabout 1,020 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,000 ft
Within 3 miles950 to 1,080 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (130 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceCedar Valley Group
Its ageMiddle Devonian to Late Devonian, 374 to 388 million years old
5

Nashua’s year

Nashua has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about 9° in January. A normal year brings about 38 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 38 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 37.7 in
July, average82° / 62° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average24° / 9° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow37.7 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year37.5 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record108°F · July 21, 1901
Coldest on record−34°F · January 16, 2009
Wettest day on record6.66 in · July 26, 1940
Snowiest day on record13.0 in · January 4, 1971
90° days a year10 · none reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°153 · and 64 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 4, to the last in spring, about May 2 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Dec. 8 to Feb. 23; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Nov. 1 to April 3; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 16.1 of the year’s 37.7 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Nashua normally reaches 44° and falls to 27°. The record high is 70°, in 1964; the record low −4°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 2.20 in, fell in 1902.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Charles City, 10 miles northwest. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,650 mito the Gulf of AmericaCedar River → Iowa → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Nashua reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Cedar River, the Iowa and the Mississippi: about 1,650 river miles.