Cedar Rapids Pavement Data: Weather, Storms and Housing

Last reviewed 2026-07-25. Journalists, researchers, and community groups are welcome to cite any figure on this page with attribution and a link.

This page collects the figures the rest of the site relies on, with the source for each. The climate numbers are NOAA's 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals for two stations: USW00014990 at the Eastern Iowa Airport, which NOAA still lists as Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport, and the cooperative station USC00131319, Cedar Rapids Number 1, on the northeast side of the city. The storm and flood figures come from the City of Cedar Rapids and the National Weather Service, and the housing figures from the Census Bureau.

Only one number here is arithmetic rather than a direct reading. A freeze-thaw day is counted as a day whose low reaches 32 degrees or colder while its high climbs above 32, so the count equals nights at or below freezing minus days that stay at or below freezing all day. At the airport that is 143.2 minus 52.9, or about 90 days a year.

Month by month at the airport station

The table reads NOAA's monthly normals for USW00014990 directly. Freeze-thaw days are nights at or below 32 degrees minus days whose high never rises above 32. The column for nights at or below 50 degrees is the one that sets the sealing season, since sealer makers ask for 50 degrees and rising for 24 hours.

Two patterns stand out. Freeze-thaw peaks in March, not January, because January is often cold enough to stay frozen all day. And the months with almost no nights at or below 50 degrees are June, July and August, which is why this site treats them as the dependable window for sealcoat.

NOAA publishes these values in tenths. Monthly freeze-thaw days sum to 90.2 because of rounding; the annual fields give 143.2 minus 52.9, or 90.3.

Two stations, two answers

Cedar Rapids Number 1 sits about six miles northeast of downtown, while the airport station is at the Eastern Iowa Airport in the southern part of the city. The northeast-side station runs about two degrees warmer on average, logs about 12 fewer nights at or below freezing and puts the median first fall freeze five days later. It also records more snow. Neither is wrong; they describe different ground, and a driveway in the northeast neighborhoods sits closer to the second set of numbers.

Both columns are NOAA 1991-2020 normals. Freeze-thaw days are nights at or below 32F minus days with a high at or below 32F.

The two storms in official numbers

The 2008 flood and the 2020 derecho affected pavement in different ways: one saturated the ground under thousands of properties, the other stripped shade and brought heavy equipment onto residential streets. These are the figures the city and the National Weather Service published; what the lost shade means for a driveway is covered in the derecho guide.

• June 13, 2008: Cedar River crest of 31.12 feet, against a previous record of 20 feet
• Floodwater over 10 square miles, 14 percent of the city
• 7,198 parcels affected, including 5,390 houses; more than 18,000 residents displaced; 310 city facilities damaged
• August 10, 2020: derecho arrived about 12:30 to 12:40 p.m. and damaging winds lasted 30 to 60 minutes
• Damage consistent with 130 to 140 mph winds in the Cedar Rapids area; 68 mph measured at the airport, 112 mph near Midway
• Up to 100,000 trees damaged or destroyed, more than 65 percent of the canopy; 4,249,900 cubic yards of tree debris removed

Housing age: when the pavement went in

Cedar Rapids grew from 72,296 residents in 1950 to 110,642 in 1970, and the housing record shows it. The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey counts 64,423 housing units, puts the median year built at 1974, and places about 59 percent of units before 1980. Driveways usually date from the house or its first replacement, so this is a rough map of pavement age as well.

ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034, Cedar Rapids city. Estimates carry margins of error.

Nearby cities compared

The four towns with their own pages on this site sit at very different points in the pavement life cycle, from Robins, where most homes were built after 2000, to Mount Vernon, where two in five predate 1940.

Population from the 2020 census; housing from ACS 2020-2024 tables B25035 and B25034. Linn County counted 230,299 residents in 2020.

Sources & Methodology

Every figure above was taken from the primary sources below (accessed 2026-07-25). Where a number is derived (arithmetic on published figures) or covers a broader period or area, the text says so.

1. NOAA NCEI, 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals, annual and seasonal, Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport (USW00014990) — ANN-TMIN-AVGNDS-LSTH032 1432 (143.2 nights), ANN-TMAX-AVGNDS-LSTH032 529 (52.9 days), ANN-SNOW-NORMAL 267 (26.7 in), ANN-PRCP-NORMAL 3461, median freeze dates 04/25 and 10/06, ANN-TMIN-AVGNDS-LSTH000 169, ANN-TMAX-AVGNDS-GRTH090 116.
2. NOAA NCEI, 1991-2020 monthly normals, USW00014990 (temperatures and nights at or below 50F) — Monthly average highs, lows and nights at or below 50F used in the month table.
3. NOAA NCEI, 1991-2020 monthly normals, USW00014990 (freeze counts, precipitation, snow) — Monthly nights at or below 32F, days with highs at or below 32F, precipitation and snowfall.
4. NOAA NCEI, 1991-2020 normals, Cedar Rapids Number 1 (USC00131319) — 131.5 nights at or below 32F, 45.7 days at or below 32F, 31.5 in snow, 37.59 in precipitation, first freeze 10/11, 15.6 days at 90F or hotter.
5. City of Cedar Rapids, 2020 Derecho — Up to 100,000 trees and more than 65 percent of the canopy; 4,249,900 cubic yards of tree debris; 111 truckloads in 48 hours.
6. City of Cedar Rapids, Flood of 2008 — 31.12-foot crest on June 13, 2008; previous record 20 feet; 10 square miles; 7,198 parcels and 5,390 houses; 18,000 residents; 310 city facilities.
7. National Weather Service Quad Cities, August 10, 2020 derecho summary — Arrival time, 30 to 60 minutes of damaging winds, 130 to 140 mph damage, 68 mph airport gust and 112 mph gust near Midway.
8. U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 table B25034, Cedar Rapids city — Housing units by year built; median year built 1974 from table B25035.
9. U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts, Cedar Rapids city, Iowa — 2020 census population 137,710 and 2010 population 126,326.