Today could be the hottest of the year

Meteorologists predict today will be the hottest day of the summer for muchof the Midwest. One-hundred-degree temperatures are predicted from Texas toSouth Dakota. National Weather Service forecaster Brad Small says Iowansshould see temperatures in the upper 90s, breaking the century mark in somespots.Small says 87 degrees is the normal high for this time of year, and it’s notunheard of to vary within five degrees of that mark. Small says what isunusual about the summer of 1999 is the prolonged stretch of mid-90-degreetemperatures, which sometimes reach into the upper 90s.Small says relief is ahead as a cold front is on the way that will droptemperatures down to normal by the weekend. Nationwide, 58 people have diedin this month’s heat wave. Many of them are elderly people who do not haveor do not use air conditioning.