116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Excessive heat warning issued for Corridor through Friday night
‘Feels like’ temps could reach 110 degrees from Cedar Rapids to Burlington.
Jul. 27, 2023 8:24 am, Updated: Jul. 27, 2023 5:40 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS — The National Weather Service’s Quad Cities Bureau has issued an excessive heat warning for a swath of Eastern Iowa including Linn and Johnson counties until Friday night.
The dangerous conditions come as a heat dome is expanding across the nation. A heat dome is a very hot air mass that forms when high-pressure conditions in the atmosphere trap warm air from rising, creating a cap. Iowa is on the periphery of it.
“We’re kind of sitting in the ring of fire pattern here,” which means the state has more chances for storms, said meteorologist Peter Speck. “Thank goodness we’re not in the heat dome, or else it would be way hotter than it is now. But we’re still feeling a lot of it.”
The bureau had previously issued a heat advisory Wednesday for its service area, which includes mostly Southeast Iowa and Northwest Illinois. Heat advisories mean that temperatures of at least 100 degrees or heat index values of at least 105 degrees are expected generally within the next 24 hours.
That was upgraded to an excessive heat warning — the top heat-related warning — Thursday as dangerously hot conditions were expected to creep through the area through 9 p.m. Friday.
Heat index values, or “feels like temperatures” that factor in humidity, from Cedar Rapids to Burlington could reach 110 degrees. They could reach 105 degrees around Dubuque. Ambient air temperature in Cedar Rapids is expected to reach 98 degrees.
“If you’re in downtown Cedar Rapids where you have the heat island effect, it wouldn’t shock me to get to 110 degrees” in heat index values, Speck said. The heat island effect is when urban areas have higher temperatures than surrounding areas do to their absorbent infrastructure.
These will be the area’s hottest temperatures of the summer so far, according to the Quad Cities Bureau.
How to keep yourself safe
Heat relief facilities for residents include:
- Linn County posts its heat relief locations, and other heat-related information, at linncountyiowa.gov/707/Heat-Relief.
- Coralville lists public facilities where residents can cool off at coralville.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2421.
- Iowa City offers city facilities like its city hall, library, senior center, Mercer Park, Robert A. Lee Community Recreation Center, splash pads and City Park pool.
- North Liberty lists its heat relief locations at northlibertyiowa.org/2023/07/25/stay-cool-during-hot-days-in-north-liberty/.
Linn and Johnson County emergency management coordinators have this advice for residents during extreme heat:
- Check on family and friends, especially older adults and at-risk individuals.
- Don’t leave children or pets in cars.
- Avoid drinking caffeine and alcohol, and stay hydrated. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty. Keep your pets and livestock hydrated, too.
- Avoid unnecessary activities outdoors, particularly during midday when temperatures tend to be hottest. Stay in an air-conditioned area.
Brittney J. Miller is the Energy & Environment Reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com
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