Today we reached peak high temperatures as a part of our first significant heat wave of the summer which started late last week. Highs today rose from the mid 90s in the north to just a few degrees shy of 100.F in the south. Heat index values ranged from 100 to 110 especially in the eastern part of Iowa which had higher dew points.  Part of what fueled these temperatures was how the day began with a very warm start as temperatures were already in the middle to upper 80s at just 11am in the morning.

Was today’s heat anything unusual in any way? I would say the heat was about as unusual as seeing a cornfield in Iowa like the one seen above, basically what I’m saying is today’s weather was actually quite typical for this time of year. In fact we are actually running a bit behind with our number of hot days like this. Southern Iowa typically averages 25-30 days with highs in the 90s and today brought only the 5th one so far. So just how hot was it? Most areas across the entire state had highs ranging from the upper 80s to the lower to middle 90s for highs, with the exception of the Des Moines Airport which had a high of 97 degrees. Urban heating likely aided in reaching this number.

 

High Temps/Heat Index Values reported today.

Des Moines Metro Area:

Ankeny 93.F/101.F
Des Moines Airport 97.F/103.F
Cumming 95.F/102.F

Statewide Cities:

Omaha/Council Bluffs 95.F/101.F
Spencer 94.F/106.F
Fort Dodge 91.F/104.F
Red Oak 93./105.F
Lamoni 94.F/111.F
Osceola 94.F/106.F
Pella 94.F/111.F
Marshalltown 93.F/103.F
Ames 91.F/102.F
Mason City 93.F/103.F
Waterloo 93.F/102.F
Cedar Rapids 93.F/106.F
Iowa City 95.F/108.F
Mount Pleasant 95.F/108.F
Keokuk 90.F/109.F
Davenport 93.F/108.F
Dubuque 90.F/100.F
Oelwein 90.F/103.F