When to paint a house exterior in Storm Lake, IA
When to paint in Storm Lake, IA
A short season: book early and expect weather delays. The painting window is July to August, with 2 good months a year. The best month is July, at about 15 painting days. Book a painter by May.
If you want the house done in July to August, call for quotes in May or earlier; a job pushed past August is likely to wait until next year. For a deck, the months with enough staining days to spare are Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- under 1Mar
- 1Apr
- 4May
- 10Jun
- 15Jul
- 13Aug
- 9Sep
- 2Oct
- 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 14° / 31°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 15° / 36°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 28° / 50°F |
| April | 1 | 1 | 7 | 36° / 61°F |
| May | 4 | 3 | 13 | 48° / 72°F |
| June | 10 | 5 | 13 | 59° / 84°F |
| July | 15 | 13 | 17 | 62° / 85°F |
| August | 13 | 12 | 15 | 60° / 82°F |
| September | 9 | 9 | 17 | 54° / 79°F |
| October | 2 | 2 | 11 | 39° / 64°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 3 | 28° / 50°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 19° / 37°F |
Deck stain does best in July. Low-temperature paint adds about 42 days a year here.
Towns near Storm Lake compared
2 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Fort Dodge (68 a year, 53 miles east). A gap like that between towns is usually elevation, a coast or a lake, which is why a painter from a few towns over can be on a different schedule.
| Place | From Storm Lake | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer, IA | 35 mi north | 65 | July to August | Spencer Municipal Airport |
| Carroll, IA | 43 mi southeast | 57 | July to August | Perry Municipal Airport |
| Le Mars, IA | 51 mi west | 54 | July to August | Sioux Gateway/Col Bud Day Fie |
| Fort Dodge, IA | 53 mi east | 68 | July to August | Fort Dodge Regional Aprt |
| Sioux City, IA | 62 mi west | 54 | July to August | Sioux Gateway/Col Bud Day Fie |
| South Sioux City, NE | 63 mi west | 54 | July to August | Sioux Gateway/Col Bud Day Fie |
How Storm Lake ranks in IA
Of 41 IA places with 10,000 people or more, Storm Lake (population 11,627, 35th largest) ranks 39th for painting days, 16 days below the state median of 72. The longest season in the state is Council Bluffs, 118 days, 103 miles south. The shortest is Le Mars at 54. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 42 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Cherokee Municipal Airport/ (19.3 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.