Geography
The Quad Cities are located at the confluence of the Rock and Mississippi rivers, approximately 180 miles (290 km) west of Chicago, and is the largest metropolitan area along the Mississippi River between Minneapolis–Saint Paul and the St. Louis metropolitan area. Interstate 80 crosses the Mississippi River here. The Quad Cities area is distinctive because the Mississippi River flows from east to west as it passes through the heart of the area; the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf are located due north of Rock Island and Moline, respectively.
The Quad Cities area is one where the telephone companies cooperate with regional phone calls. Iowa and Illinois have different area codes (563 and 309 respectively), yet most calls originating and terminating within the core urban area are placed without long-distance charges by dialing just a 7-digit number. This helps the bi-state area promote itself as a single community, "joined by a river."
The Quad Cities Metropolitan Area consists of four counties: Scott County in Iowa and Henry, Mercer, and Rock Island counties in Illinois. The Quad City metro population is 381,342. The Quad Cities Metropolitan Area is also considered part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis.
| Climate data for Davenport, IA | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 69 (21) |
70 (21) |
88 (31) |
93 (34) |
94 (34) |
100 (38) |
101 (38) |
100 (38) |
98 (37) |
95 (35) |
80 (27) |
72 (22) |
101 (38) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 30 (−1) |
36 (2) |
48 (9) |
61 (16) |
72 (22) |
81 (27) |
85 (29) |
83 (28) |
76 (24) |
65 (18) |
48 (9) |
35 (2) |
60 (16) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 13 (−11) |
19 (−7) |
29 (−2) |
41 (5) |
52 (11) |
63 (17) |
68 (20) |
66 (19) |
57 (14) |
45 (7) |
32 (0) |
20 (−7) |
42 (6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −17 (−27) |
−22 (−30) |
−3 (−19) |
19 (−7) |
32 (0) |
44 (7) |
53 (12) |
44 (7) |
35 (2) |
22 (−6) |
8 (−13) |
−18 (−28) |
−22 (−30) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 1.28 (32.5) |
1.41 (35.8) |
2.59 (65.8) |
3.64 (92.5) |
4.44 (112.8) |
4.75 (120.7) |
2.99 (75.9) |
4.31 (109.5) |
2.90 (73.7) |
2.39 (60.7) |
2.47 (62.7) |
1.93 (49) |
35.1 (892) |
| Source: http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/allergies/wxclimatology/monthly/52804 | |||||||||||||
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