April showers may bring May flowers but September is only bringing the heat. Forecasters say most of Iowa will have high temperatures in the 80s this afternoon, but the rest of the Labor Day weekend will be unseasonably steamy. Meteorologist Brad Small, at the National Weather Service, says this hot spell will run Saturday through at least Tuesday.
“Much of central Iowa, and much of the state for that matter, will be well into the 90s for highs all those days,” Small says, “and we may even touch 100 in spots on Sunday, not widespread but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few.” There is a silver lining to this cloud, Small says, even though there are no rain clouds likely to be spotted for a while.
“The humidity won’t be as oppressive as the previous heat episode, and there will be a little bit more in the way of wind with a south-to-southeast breeze in the afternoon,” Small says. “So those two things will make it feel a little bit better, but still, highs in the 90s is something we really need to be cognizant of and take some heat safety precautions.”
The prolonged heat wave last week saw upper 90s and low 100s for five straight days, including a host of new high temperature records, with Sioux City reporting a record heat index of 122.
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)