Ames, Iowa Weather
Ames, Iowa — live current conditions, hourly and 7-day forecasts, NWS alerts, radar and satellite imagery for Ames, Story County.
Full aviation weather for Ames is published on the Ames Municipal Airport (KAMW) page, 5 km away. It carries the current METAR decoded into plain language — surface wind, visibility, cloud layers and ceiling, temperature and dewpoint, and altimeter setting — alongside the raw observation as transmitted. 6 airfields within reach of Ames have their own pages, listed below.
The Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) is shown across its full validity period, with each change group broken out so you can see when conditions are expected to shift. Flight category is derived automatically — VFR, MVFR, IFR or LIFR — from reported ceiling and visibility, with runway details and field elevation alongside. Observations update roughly hourly and forecasts several times a day.
Other airports near Ames: Boone Municipal Airport (KBNW) 19 km · Ankeny Regional Airport (KIKV) 38 km · Webster City Municipal Airport (KEBS) 49 km · Perry Municipal Airport (KPRO) 50 km · Des Moines International Airport (KDSM) 56 km
Conditions reported at KAMW describe the airfield itself. Weather 5 km away can differ, particularly in terrain or near the coast. For conditions at Ames specifically, see the current conditions and forecast above.
About Ames, Iowa
Ames rests in the heart of Iowa, a place where the land rolls with a quiet persistence, a gentle swell and dip that mirrors the slow, deliberate turn of seasons. It lies 21.1 miles north of Ankeny, IA (from Ankeny, IA: bearing 358°T), and is situated 8.6 miles west of Nevada. The sky here is a vast, ever-changing canvas, often painted in the bruised purples and molten golds of twilight, spilling its light across fields of corn and soybean that stretch to horizons so wide they seem to hold the breath of the world. The air, especially in late summer, carries the faint, earthy perfume of ripening crops, a scent that clings to the very essence of the place, a subtle reminder of the fertile ground beneath. Even the wind seems to have a particular cadence, a rustling whisper through the stalks that speaks of the open prairie and the enduring strength of the land. The story of Ames is deeply entwined with the railroad that first laid its tracks through this fertile plain, a ribbon of steel that brought with it the promise of growth and connection. It’s a history built on agriculture, with the rich Iowa soil yielding its bounty year after year, feeding not just the local economy but a wider world. This agricultural heritage is honored and studied at Iowa State University, a vibrant center of learning that injects a youthful energy and a spirit of innovation into the community, its distinctive collegiate gothic architecture a familiar landmark against the prairie backdrop. The university’s presence shapes the character of Ames, fostering a lively intellectual current alongside the steady pulse of rural life, creating a unique blend of academic pursuit and grounded practicality.
Live animated radar for Ames and surroundings — RainViewer.
NOAA GOES-16 GEOCOLOR — live animated loop updated every 10 minutes. Shows cloud cover, storm systems and weather patterns across the continental US.
Source: NOAA/NESDIS GOES-East · Public domain · Auto-updates on page reload
| Location | Ames, Story County, Iowa |
| Coordinates | 42.034708°N, 93.61994°W |
| Timezone | Central Time (America/Chicago) |
| ZIP Code(s) | 50010, 50014, 50011, 50012, 50013 |
| Area Code | 515 |
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Weather data | Open-Meteo (open-source), NOAA National Weather Service |
About This Ames, Iowa Weather Page
This page provides live weather conditions and forecasts for Ames, Iowa, including current conditions, a 24-hour hourly forecast, 7-day outlook, NWS extended text forecast, precipitation radar and NOAA GOES-16 satellite imagery. Aviation weather — live METAR observations and TAF forecasts — is published separately on the pages for the nearest reporting airports, linked from the aviation section above. Additional sections may include tide predictions, wave height, wave direction and sea-surface temperature, a barometric pressure trend, and a solunar-based fishing forecast with a fishing-conditions rating for coastal localities, and soil temperature, crop weather and live USGS river gauge data for agricultural areas near a monitored waterway. All data updates automatically on every page visit.
Location data for Ames includes coordinates 42.034708°N, 93.619940°W, situated in Story County. ZIP code 50010, 50014, 50011, 50012, 50013. Telephone area code: 515. Timezone: Central Time (America/Chicago).
Weather data is sourced from the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) and the open-source Open-Meteo API. River and stream data is sourced from the USGS National Water Information System. Tide predictions are sourced from NOAA CO-OPS; marine and solunar data are modeled from Open-Meteo and public sunrise/moon calculations and should be treated as a general guide alongside on-the-water conditions. Radar is provided by RainViewer. Satellite imagery is sourced from NOAA/NESDIS GOES-East and is public domain.
