Winters in Sioux Falls, SD versus Des Moines, Iowa. Discuss. (Iowa City: neighborhood, tornadoes)

[MNtoAZ]

I am interested to hear people familiar with both places compare and contrast. I live near Sioux Falls, so only know that side of the argument.

[capitalcityguy]

Not trying to be snotty, but why compare these two fairly unrelated cities?

[MNtoAZ]

Because I am thinking about moving. I know the weather in Sioux Falls pretty much sucks. Wondering about Des Moines.

[jmgg]

I too live in Sioux Falls, but travel and stay often to Iowa City staying with several relatives. Iowa City weather and Des Moines weather would be on a par being only 100 miles apart on the same latitude line.

The last years snowfall between Sioux Falls and the Des Moines area have been similar. My guess is over time Des Moines will record more snow per year than in our neck of the woods. The difference is Des Moines' ability to have more melting days than we get during the winter. Des Moines is located approx. 150 miles south of Sioux Falls and this does make a difference.

The other difference in the winter is the wind. Iowegians in this part of Iowa have no idea what wind chill is compared to us lucky South Dakotans. The downside for Des Moines with it's slightly warmer weather and more frequent winter melts is the propensity for more ice.

Needless to say, Des Moines enjoys later falls and earlier springs.

During the summer it can be very humid in both locations. I don't see much of a difference.

[MNtoAZ]

Thank you.

Ice DOES scare me a bit, if a commute is involved. But I imagine that the roads are salted/sanded good.

[capitalcityguy]

Originally Posted by MNtoAZ

Thank you.

Ice DOES scare me a bit, if a commute is involved. But I imagine that the roads are salted/sanded good.

Great thing about DM (unlike larger cities) is that a commute is only necessary if you choose to live in a place that requires a commute of any distance. For the most part, you can live within a short distance of your job and not worry about the quality of the neighborhood.

[Chicago60614]

summer is almost exactly the same. Winter lows are around 10 degrees colder in SD, but the winter highs are only around 5 degrees colder.

[MNtoAZ]

So, here is my understanding of the 4 seasons:

Spring - starts earlier (March 1 instead of April 10)
Summer - VERY similar as far as temps but less windy that SFSD.
Fall - stays nicer later (December 10 instead of November 1)
Winter - The biggest difference. Warmer and FAR less windy.

How about the incidents of severe weather in both summer and winter?

Thanks!

[atler8]

From my knowledge of the seasons there & in view of Des Moines' location further south, as noted earlier in this thread, there would not be a whole heck of a lot of difference between the weather in Sioux Falls versus that of Des Moines.
Thusly the winter might normally be a couple to a few weeks shorter for you in Des Moines & the summer slightly longer but I wouldn't go so far as to use the term "nice" as you did for weather in Des Moines in early December.
When I attended ISU in Ames, 30 miles north of Des Moines, I noticed a tendency for the ground to go bare of snow much more often in winter than in my hometown which was in the second row of counties north of Ames. Then, later while living in Des Moines, I noticed that the ground went bare there noticeably more often as compared to up in Ames. An earlier poster also mentioned the tendency for more mid-winter thaw & melting days to occur in central Iowa as compared to what you have in in Sioux Falls.
The incidence of severe weather in both winter & summer should not be really much different in Sioux Falls than from in Des Moines. Both can suffer from the threat of blizzards as well as violent thunderstorms or tornadoes.