It’s been a while since Iowans have heard the words “heat index” in the forecast. Kurt Kotenberg, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, says if you thought yesterday was steamy, prepare yourself for even hotter temps later this afternoon.
“Yesterday, we were at 92 degrees in Des Moines and upper 80s, low 90s across the rest of Iowa,” Kotenberg says. “Today, we’ll add on a few degrees to those numbers. We’ll probably be in the middle 90s to low 90s around much of Iowa. Also, we have dew point temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70s, so when you put everything together, heat index values today will be mid to upper-90s.”
Kotenberg says temperatures will be cooling off tomorrow with rain possible, but the heat will return soon.
“We’re looking at a frontal boundary that will come down from the northwest tomorrow morning into the afternoon, that’ll keep Thursday and Friday in the low to middle 80s,” he says. “We also have some chances for scattered showers and storms across much of the state of Iowa.”
By Saturday though, highs should be back in the low to mid-90s, with the potential for upper-90s next week.
By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City