Iowans are being warned that spending too much time outdoors today could be dangerous, as an extreme heat warning is posted for Iowa’s southern half and western third. Forecasters say heat indices this afternoon may reach 110 to 115 degrees.
Meteorologist Cory Martin, at the National Weather Service, says parts of Iowa escaped the heat Thursday with cloud cover and rain.
“While it didn’t produce heavy rainfall that really cooled us down, what it did do is it left behind some cloud debris that helped keep the temperatures down a little bit,” Martin says. “But right now, for today, we’re looking at sunshine. It’s probably going to be a bit more likely, so we’re a bit more confident in the temperatures getting up a little higher today compared to yesterday.”
It’s a hot, steamy 81 miles from Tama-Toledo to Coralville on this next-to-last day of RAGBRAI, as thousands of bicycle riders near their final destination. Nick Pfeiffer is Coralville’s RAGBRAI publicity chairman and says the city has been working toward this day for months.