Iowa ยท season guide
Sledding season in Cedar Rapids
NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the Waterloo Muni Airport weather station, about 55 miles from the middle of our Cedar Rapids hill list show November as the first month that averages an inch of snow or more (3.1 inches). The normals are monthly averages, so they can't give a first-snow date. Some years come early, some late.
Caveat: the nearest NOAA station with snow normals is about 55 miles from these hills, so local snowfall can differ a lot from these numbers.
January is the snowiest month on average, at 10.1 inches.
Across a normal year the station records about 39.1 inches of snow. That puts Cedar Rapids at 58 of 98 metros on this site, ranked from snowiest down.
Once it arrives, it tends to stay: about 64 days a year have at least an inch of snow on the ground.
For comparison, Iowa City, the nearest metro on our list, averages 23.6 inches, less than here.
3 of the 3 hills we list here come from a city, county or park district page.
Month by month
| Month | Average snowfall | Days with 1 inch or more of new snow | Days with 1 inch or more on the ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | 0.3 inches | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| November | 3.1 inches | 1.0 | 2.9 |
| December | 9.9 inches | 3.1 | 13.0 |
| January | 10.1 inches | 3.1 | 21.4 |
| February | 9.3 inches | 2.8 | 18.3 |
| March | 4.6 inches | 1.5 | 7.6 |
| April | 1.7 inches | 0.5 | 0.7 |
Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, station USW00094910. "Not stated by source" means NOAA publishes no value for that station.
Lit hills
None of the sources we used for Cedar Rapids mention lights on a sledding hill. Plan on daylight, and see our national lit hills list if you're travelling.
Local rules
We didn't find a city-wide sledding rule for Cedar Rapids in the sources we checked. Individual parks may post their own signs, and those win.
Short answers
When does it usually start snowing in Cedar Rapids?
In NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Waterloo Muni Airport station, November is the first month averaging an inch of snow or more. The normals are monthly averages, not a date.
How much snow does Cedar Rapids get in a year?
About 39.1 inches a year at the Waterloo Muni Airport station, per NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals.
Are there lit sledding hills in Cedar Rapids?
None of the sources we used mention lights. Plan on daylight.
Updated