Spirit Lake, Iowa Weather
Spirit Lake, Iowa — live current conditions, hourly and 7-day forecasts, NWS alerts, radar and satellite imagery, soil and crop conditions for Spirit Lake, Dickinson County.
Full aviation weather for Spirit Lake is published on the Spirit Lake Municipal Airport (K0F3) 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 Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake: Jackson Municipal Airport (KMJQ) 27 km · Estherville Municipal Airport (KEST) 29 km · Spencer Municipal Airport (KSPW) 30 km · Worthington Municipal Airport (KOTG) 46 km · Emmetsburg Municipal Airport (KEGQ) 48 km
Conditions reported at K0F3 describe the airfield itself. Weather 5 km away can differ, particularly in terrain or near the coast. For conditions at Spirit Lake specifically, see the current conditions and forecast above.
Soil conditions, frost risk and crop weather for Spirit Lake.
About Spirit Lake, Iowa
Spirit Lake mirrors the expansive Iowa sky, its waters a vast, shifting canvas reflecting the ever-present blue and the dramatic blush of sunset. It lies 60.3 miles south-south-west of Brown, MN (from Brown, MN: bearing 202°T), and is situated 7.2 miles north-north-east of Milford. The land here, a gentle swell of prairie, rolls towards the water's edge, dotted with stands of oak and maple that offer a cool respite from the summer sun. The air carries the clean scent of water and mown grass, a subtle perfume that mingles with the hum of cicadas in the warmer months. Shorelines vary from manicured beaches, where the sand is fine and pale, to wilder stretches where reeds whisper secrets to the wind. The character of Spirit Lake is one of quiet abundance, a place where the broad strokes of nature are softened by the familiar details of human settlement. The history of Spirit Lake is deeply entwined with its watery heart, a place that has drawn people for generations, first as a vital hunting and fishing ground for Indigenous peoples, and later as a resort destination that boomed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The development of the railroad brought vacationers eager for the cool breezes and recreational opportunities, transforming the area into a summer playground. While the grand hotels of yesteryear have largely faded, the spirit of leisure persists, now supported by a thriving local economy focused on tourism, agriculture, and the businesses that cater to the year-round residents who appreciate the tranquil beauty of Spirit Lake. The echoes of past prosperity can still be felt in the architecture of older buildings, whispering stories of a time when this lakeside locale was the height of fashionable escape.
Live animated radar for Spirit Lake 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 | Spirit Lake, Dickinson County, Iowa |
| Coordinates | 43.422184°N, 95.102217°W |
| Timezone | Central Time (America/Chicago) |
| ZIP Code(s) | 51360 |
| Area Code | 563 |
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Weather data | Open-Meteo (open-source), NOAA National Weather Service |
About This Spirit Lake, Iowa Weather Page
This page provides live weather conditions and forecasts for Spirit Lake, 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 Spirit Lake includes coordinates 43.422184°N, 95.102217°W, situated in Dickinson County. ZIP code 51360. Telephone area code: 563. 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.
