Race-day weather · Wyndo for runners
Des Moines Turkey Trot weather
November 26, 2026 · Des Moines, IA · scheduled start 9:00 AM (America/Chicago). What the start usually feels like, year by year — and a live start-time read once the race is inside the 7-day forecast window.
Countdown
91 days to race day
The live race-day forecast unlocks 85 days from now, when November 26, 2026 enters the 7-day forecast window — a start-time read for the scheduled 9:00 AM start. Until then, live hourly data is not available; the history below shows what race morning usually looks like.
Typical start temp
31°F
median of 20 years
A warm year
34°F
75th percentile start temp
Rain at the start
5%
1 of 20 measured years
Race-morning weather history
Upper-20s to mid-30s F typical at the 9:00 start with wind chill; occasional snow/ice on the downtown river-crossing course. First run 2015 — 2006-2014 slots are pre-existence climatology; 2020 virtual-only; 2024 course rerouted for construction. Wyndo tracks what this calendar slot has actually served up at the start hour — temperature, dew point, wind, and rain — including the years when weather canceled or disrupted the race, and reads the live forecast for the start once race week arrives.
Median start temp
31°F
p75 (a warm year): 34°F
Median dew point
24°F
at the start hour
Rain at the start
5%
1 of 20 measured years
Warmest start
54°F
in 2012
Scroll sideways to see all columns.
| Year | Start temp | Dew point | Wind | Precip (start hr) | Day's high |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 23°F | 19°F | 7 mph | dry | 35°F |
| 2024 | 28°F | 20°F | 11 mph | dry | 31°F |
| 2023 | 33°F | 25°F | 12 mph | dry | 44°F |
| 2022 | 46°F | 43°F | 4 mph | dry | 54°F |
| 2021 | 19°F | 8°F | 16 mph | dry | 35°F |
| 2020 | 33°F | 29°F | 10 mph | dry | 49°F |
| 2019 | 30°F | 23°F | 6 mph | dry | 32°F |
| 2018 | 29°F | 28°F | 7 mph | dry | 55°F |
| 2017 | 31°F | 24°F | 7 mph | dry | 56°F |
| 2016 | 38°F | 30°F | 2 mph | dry | 40°F |
| 2015 | 48°F | 46°F | 6 mph | 1.1 mm | 56°F |
| 2014 | 7°F | 1°F | 9 mph | dry | 25°F |
| 2013 | 21°F | 13°F | 12 mph | dry | 33°F |
| 2012 | 54°F | 41°F | 14 mph | dry | 68°F |
| 2011 | 43°F | 40°F | 11 mph | dry | 65°F |
| 2010 | 19°F | 6°F | 11 mph | dry | 31°F |
| 2009 | 32°F | 23°F | 16 mph | dry | 38°F |
| 2008 | 24°F | 21°F | 5 mph | dry | 47°F |
| 2007 | 28°F | 22°F | 10 mph | dry | 29°F |
| 2006 | 34°F | 31°F | 6 mph | dry | 60°F |
Slot climatology: each row is the weather at this race's usual calendar slot and start hour (ERA5 reanalysis at the start line) — including years when the edition was canceled or moved. A computed slot date is not a claim the race ran that day.
Your heat-adjusted goal for the 5k
The same cited model as the full calculator, pointed at this race: the median start-hour conditions this calendar slot has served up — climatology, not a forecast.
Your race-day brief
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Race facts
- Start line
- Court Ave at the Polk County Courthouse (208 Court Ave; the line drifted a block across 2015-2022 editions). Address-centroid geocode, approximate.
- Scheduled start
- 9:00 AM (America/Chicago) — 5K and 5-Mile share a single 9:00 AM CT mass start (2026 published; 2025 chip data shows leaders crossing seconds after 9:00). The untimed Tot Trot 10:15 starts at the FINISH area, not this line. No wheelchair/elite gun listed any year.
- Field size
- 2025 timed finishers: 5K 5,336 + 5-Mile 648 (True Time Racing results pages). Excludes the untimed Tot Trot; registrant totals not published.
- Registration
- open (RunSignUp; family bundles; virtual option; organized by RipRoar Events)
Wyndo is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Des Moines Turkey Trot (officially the "The Des Moines Turkey Trot") or its organizers. Race names are used descriptively to identify the event; schedules and start times belong to the race — always confirm details on the official site. Weather guidance here is informational, never medical advice, and event alert flags on race day belong to the race's own medical team.