Weather

The worst of the storms impacted a line from Cedar Rapids to Clinton, leaving power outages that lasted for hours, trees blocking streets and debris scattered across streets. Several Corridor cities announced plans to collect yard waste after the storms.

Homeless residents told The Gazette they need more to protect them from heat-related illnesses.

The storms moved in as Coralville was set to welcome thousands of cyclists on the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa with a festival and concert by a rock band. Instead, campers were encouraged to seek shelter in City Hall and schools to ride out the storm.

“Feels like” temperatures could reach 110 degrees from Cedar Rapids down to Burlington.

Eastern Iowa will likely start seeing temperatures surpassing 90 degrees by midweek, even as early as Tuesday. It will likely be the hottest days of the summer so far. Local officials are ready to respond, if needed, with cooling centers.

El Nino may throw long-term weather projections for a loop.

The Gazette will be answering reader inquiries about the smoky conditions and what they mean for Iowa.

Chris Gloninger is departing KCCI and his career in TV news in July, he announced Wednesday, citing family health issues and post-traumatic stress he suffered after receiving the threats.

Air quality in Cedar Rapids deteriorated from “moderate” to “unhealthy” throughout Thursday morning, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Fire and Smoke Map.

The abrupt dryness from flash droughts, like the one that has been occurring in Iowa, come on quickly and can wilt crops and waterways faster than long-term droughts. New research finds the dangerous dry spells will become more common in the future.

Drought conditions spread so quickly in May that state experienced a “flash drought.”

Wildfires in Canada — as many as 31 of which were uncontrolled as of Thursday — have been to blame for the hazy skies in Iowa this week. And while a cold front moving across the state today will blow the haze away, experts said it’s likely to return in the coming weeks and months.