As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Every buy button leads to Amazon.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.Full disclosure →Disclosure →
DOORS-OFF FORECAST / DES MOINES, IA

Doors off in
Des Moines.

Des Moines averages 91 doors-off days a year. Here's which months deliver, which don't and why, from 10 years of daily weather. Plus this week's call.

91
Doors-off days a year

#74 of 95 US metros. See the ranking →

Jun–Sep
Prime season

Months that average doors-off weather on at least half their days.

Jul
Best month

20 doors-off days on average, feels-like high 90°F.

This week in Des Moines

Pull them this week?

Score it to your limits →
  1. Loading the 7-day forecast…

Scored with our fair-weather defaults (68–100°F feels-like, wind under 18 mph, low rain odds). Forecast from Open-Meteo.

Month by month

Doors-off days in Des Moines, by month

MonthDoors-off daysFeels-like highWet days
Jan022°F6.4
Feb027°F6.3
Mar042°F8.4
Apr2.855°F10
May8.670°F15
Jun1786°F11
Jul2090°F8.5
Aug1986°F10
Sep1879°F8
Oct5.158°F7.5
Nov0.242°F6.5
Dec031°F6

Averages per month over 2015–2024. Highlighted rows are prime months.

When to take it off in Des Moines

Prime season in Des Moines runs Jun–Sep: those months average doors-off weather on at least half their days.

January, February, March, April, October, November and December are the cold side: the average feels-like high sits under 68°F. May hovers just over the 68°F floor (average feels-like high 70°F), so plenty of days still come up short.

Your limits aren't ours. If you run doors-off at 55°F in a hoodie, or bail the second it hits 85, set your own thresholds in the forecast tool and it'll call each day for Des Moines against them.

Weather is half of it

Doors off in Iowa: legal with a clear rear view

The IA mirror and fender rules, in plain English with the statute cited.

Read the IA rules →
PRIME-SEASON SHADE

Keep the sun, lose the sunburn

Bikini and shade tops that keep the overhead open air without cooking you in July. Every link goes to Amazon.

See all tops & covers →

STRAIGHT ANSWERS

Des Moines doors-off FAQ.

When is doors-off season in Des Moines?
Prime season in Des Moines runs Jun–Sep: those months average doors-off weather on at least half their days. Counted from 10 years (2015–2024) of daily weather, where a doors-off day means a feels-like high between 68 and 100°F, wind under 18 mph and no real rain.
How many doors-off days does Des Moines get a year?
About 91 on average, which ranks #74 of the 95 US metros we track. The best month, July, averages 20 doors-off days.
What's the best month to run doors-off in Des Moines?
July, then August and September, by average doors-off days. Check this week's forecast before you pull them; averages don't drive.
Is it legal to drive with the doors off in Iowa?
Legal with a clear rear view. The full Iowa mirror and fender rules, cited to the statute, are on our Iowa doors-off law page.

How we count: daily weather for Des Moines (41.6005, -93.6091) from the Open-Meteo historical archive (ERA5 reanalysis, a gridded model of past weather, not a single airport station), 2015–2024. A doors-off day has a feels-like high of 68–100°F, max wind of 18 mph or less and under 0.04 in of rain. Those are the same fair-weather limits the forecast tool starts with. Averages smooth out good and bad years; the forecast is what you drive on.