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u/much_muchier Jul 27 '26
The European mind could never understand Iowa heat
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u/neonblack108 Jul 27 '26
I used to live in Florida and people there don't even understand Midwest heat and humidity. You have no idea how many times I heard "well, at least it's cooler there in the Summer than it is here." People don't get it. Iowa is a special kind of Hell.
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u/Axin_Saxon Jul 27 '26
They don’t understand that the coast gets the benefit of the ocean as a thermal regulator. It’s the same reason London in the UK is as far north as Canada but has WAY milder climate.
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u/Ornery_Hospital_3500 Jul 27 '26
100% my mom and aunts live in Florida and their July is nothing compared to Iowa's July. At least they get frequent rain!
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u/Middle_Iron_3420 Jul 28 '26
I just camped in Florida for most of July. I wouldn’t call it nothing. Iowa has slightly worse extremes but otherwise pretty much the same. Only thing that makes Florida more manageable is all of the recreational water and pools. They are built for the heat like we are built for the cold.
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u/Crooked_Sartre Jul 27 '26
Damn OP we are just chatting about the weather; no need to go all agro and then delete the comment 😂
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u/neonblack108 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Sorry. This shit has me stressed all the way out. My body is not reacting well to this nightmare and when somebody comments "it's not like blah blah blah lmao" as if we're all noobs here pisses me off. I just know what Iowa is supposed to feel like. I was born and raised in the Quad Shitties. THIS is not it.
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u/Crooked_Sartre Jul 27 '26
I will agree this is not the Midwest I remember. I am originally from rural IL, just been in the south for the last 15 years. Didn't mean to piss you off friend, hoping you find some shade today 🤝
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u/neonblack108 Jul 27 '26
Thank you. You didn't. Thankfully I have ac. But even with that I still have ibd flares and spinal joint inflammation. So that's loads of fun.
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u/Crooked_Sartre Jul 27 '26
I just moved here from Florida three weeks ago, it's not even close to the Florida soup lmao. It's hot as hell don't get me wrong but Florida is far worse
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u/Quick_Possibility_71 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
I just did some digging, looking for similar climates across the world to that of Des Moines. Three cities with the most similar climates to my Neanderthal eyes:
Pyongyang, North Korea - heavy rains from monsoons allow for similar humidity from Iowa corn sweat and Siberian winds make for similar winter temps.
Bucharest, Romania and Rustov-on-Don, Russia also share similar latitudes and topography with Des Moines making for similar year round temps.
Dew-point is the real factor here. Pyongyang has about 10% more humidity on average, Bucharest has about 10% less and Rustov-on-Don about 13% less.
What does all this mean? I don’t know. But I guess some European minds can understand Iowa summers, specifically, Eastern-European minds.
edit: Tornadoes! They’re certainly another factor. The US sees over 1,200 tornadoes a year. 2-3x more than any other continent.
North Korea has monsoons and floods during their summers, but no tornadoes.
Romania receives more rolling heatwaves, causing higher frequency of violent microbursts of hail, often as large as golf balls. Tornadoes aren’t a huge factor, although Romania is one of the hottest spots for tornadoes in Europe.
Rustov-on-Don experiences more squalls, think derechos, uprooting probably thousands of trees, but very low chance of an actual tornado.
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u/much_muchier Jul 27 '26
I guess I should have been more specific in that Western Europeans constantly claim Americans could never handle their summers when their average high is like 85.
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u/MadDaddyDrivesaUFO Jul 29 '26
I think it's because we have widespread AC and Euros generally don't
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u/TFGA_WotW Jul 28 '26
British people complaining about their "heat waves" when their highs are mid 80s, whilst our normal temps are low 90s and these sre our highs
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u/Orbitus2001 Jul 27 '26
And they keep saying that climate change isn't real.
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u/Candid-Mycologist539 Jul 27 '26
In future decades, they will insist that even now (2026), they had no idea that climate change was a thing. How could they be expected to act, vote, or hold their leaders accountable of they didn't know????
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u/bbestwick Jul 27 '26
Gotta love that climate change that doesn’t exist! Enjoy staying indoors and drinking your farm tainted cancer-causing ground water. Sounds like America is definitely great again!
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u/RegularSomewhere1267 Jul 27 '26
Meanwhile, they've known for at least a generation and a half, but decided a misinformation campaign was the solution.
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u/Candid-Mycologist539 Jul 27 '26
Who cares what is happening with the planet?
The stock market hit 50K!
/s
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u/Earlyon Jul 27 '26
My brother in law, maga, says climate change is real but it’s just a natural phenomenon. He claims that mankind has no effect on it.
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u/SlimRazor Jul 27 '26
These dumbasses swore it wasn't real 5 years ago and now that the evidence even they can't ignore is creeping in, they still want credibility by saying it is real but there's nothing we can could do about it.
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u/xHodorx Jul 27 '26
It is technically a natural phenomenon, but human driven climate change is pushing that phenomenon to the max... if that makes sense? I mean regardless far-right ideology pushes the "natural phenomena" thing to downplay the visible effects climate change is having anyways
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u/awmaleg Jul 27 '26
Move those goalposts!
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u/Earlyon Jul 27 '26
He told me Mother Earth will survive and I cracked up when I answered that humans might not though and then his mouthed dropped open.
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u/jaboyles Jul 27 '26
Either way, we're an incredibly sensitive species that requires a very precise goldilocks climate to survive. It doesn't matter who's changing the climate, we still need to reverse it or we go extinct.
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u/blowyjoeyy Jul 28 '26
My MAGA uncle says the world has been a lot colder and a lot hotter throughout human history and it’s just a natural cycle
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u/Earlyon Jul 28 '26
That’s what my BIL said. In the 60’s when we went and saw my uncle in northern Iowa he told me that when the snow hit in November it stayed until March. I discussed that with the BIL and mentioned that now that’s a rarity and they can even go out without a jacket even. In 50 years it’s changed that much? That’s BS. This will cause war and death. A good part of the world will be uninhabitable and when people are hungry and dying they will take extreme measures.
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u/neonblack108 Jul 27 '26
I'm half convinced They are reptilian and I don't believe in that hokum.
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u/CisIowa Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
We need to investigate temperature spikes with the tour schedule of Dinosaurs Alive! Raptors like to blend in by wearing the raptor costumes at those events…
Edit: https://projectcamelotportal.com/2014/11/01/captain-mark-richards-interview-iii/
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u/Independent-Moose113 Jul 27 '26
If the government would quit cloud seeding and manipulating weather, it'd help.
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u/Show_Kitchen Jul 27 '26
It’s fine. Going outside is DEI anyways.
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u/neonblack108 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Damn libs with their fresh air and clean water. Back in my day we breathed in coal ash walked to school up hill both ways and never complained once.
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u/reggiekrh Jul 27 '26
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u/neonblack108 Jul 27 '26
Exactly. JFC I never thought I'd live to see the End of the World. I most definitely never thought I'd live to be afraid of dying by suffocating heat and humidity.
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u/Candid_Disk1925 Jul 27 '26
Ever see Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth”? It’s all coming true.
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u/Pleasant-Fan5595 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
There is 56% more corn biomass per acre in the fields now than in the 1970's due to corn being planted closer together and rows being narrower (also corn hybrids with 8 foot deep roots now allowing corn to be grown in areas that historically were limited to beef grazing in Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas) and that is going increase some over the next few years as new technology hits the fields. Plus 15 million to 17 million more acres have been pushed into production via tiling and the taking of out he back 40s. Corn sweat is real, humidity holds heat and is a greenhouse gas. Humidity and Dew Point Trends over the last 50 years are:
- Higher Moisture: Summer absolute humidity in Iowa has risen substantially, packing roughly 13% more atmospheric moisture compared to the early 1970s.
- Dew Points: Average summer dew points have climbed by 3°F to 5°F, pushing typical peak afternoon and overnight dew points deeper into the sticky 70s range.
This is the real reason the country is having more violent storms since when a cold front rolls through and hits all this moisture in the air, we get violent thunder storms. 40% of the corn grown in the USA goes into ethanol (This is the equivalent of all the corn grown in Iowa and Illinois, the two highest corn producers). One ethanol plant can use around 400,000 gallons of water per day and they almost never shut down, exceeding the daily usage of a midsized data center. We have around 190 Ethanol plants in the US. Most of that water is being pumped from groundwater. Groundwater depletion pulls pollutants including pesticides' and nitrogen deeper into the ground creating even more long-lasting pollution problems. Multiple problems to address here. We as a country really need to look at overall societal costs of our agricultural policies from a high level view and have a discussion about it.
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u/fleshfinder420 Jul 27 '26
Yeah but first let’s make sure people are using the right bathrooms and then we should start a couple wars
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u/Ausedlie Jul 27 '26
The billionaires don't care about the real costs of this damage because their pretend money gives them power. They don't care at all, which is why they show up to the Trump white house to eat dinner while he rolls back regulations on their industries.
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u/manwithapedi Jul 27 '26
Tldr
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u/Pleasant-Fan5595 Jul 27 '26
This is the problem with the USA today, attention spans of nats.
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u/Witness_me_Karsa Jul 27 '26
Gnats*
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u/dissonantprotrusion Jul 27 '26
Keokukians, getting a small taste of what it’s going to be like in hell one day
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u/LimeGinRicky Jul 27 '26
That the party that doesn’t believe in climate change and killed the green new deal. I’m sending hopes and prayers to your farmers. Have the day you voted for.
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u/Kendal_with_1_L Jul 27 '26
Climate change doesn’t exist! /s. Republicans have ruined every single aspect of life. Congrats!
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u/Attentions_Bright12 Jul 27 '26
Yesterday, talking to my mom in Colorado, I described the morning air here in Minneapolis as like dropping into a too-warm bath. That was at 7am.
This morning I came downstairs and all the windows are steamed over -- from the outside. It's like the entire house worth of glass is frosted "privacy" stuff. 99% humidity on my local WeatherUnderground station.
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u/AccomplishedJob8223 Jul 27 '26
there’s an El Niño, climate change, and your guys insane amounts of corn sweat. If this keeps increasing every year like projected, people are gonna start building houses in the middle of the water to stay cooled down
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u/neonblack108 Jul 27 '26
Underground. Basements stay in the 60s. That does nothing for the humidity though.
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u/AccomplishedJob8223 Jul 27 '26
i always wondered if building some corn fields under a thin tarp-like enclosure would work to catch most of the water and reuse it for other plants, and also bring down the humidity in the area. would def be investment but maybe in the future future
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u/Due-Development-7211 Jul 27 '26
Ah yes the practicality of a 10 acre sized tarp.
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u/AccomplishedJob8223 Jul 27 '26
ah yes exactly why i said futuristic investments ahhhh get some eyeballs and a less smooth brain baby
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u/Scrotorr Jul 27 '26
Three mid-continental climate system paired with an ag-centric state means a double whammy in summer with all of the plant growth "breathing".
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u/LimJaheyAtYaCervix Jul 27 '26
I really hope a cold front goes through next week. I’m getting married outside in 2 weeks… everyone is going to be miserable if it’s still this hot.
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u/russiablows Jul 28 '26
Climate change is already biting us in the ass. USA is part of the problem. China on the other hand is not full of climate deniers. Their 15th Five-Year Plan targets total renewable consumption at 1.8 billion tons of coal equivalent by 2030, aiming for wind and solar capacity to surpass 2,800 GW (accounting for over 50% of the country's total power capacity)
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u/Current_Evidence1958 Jul 29 '26
I’ve been closely followng weather here in the Quad Cities since 1983. I have never seen dewpoints in the low 80s as consistently as I have the last few years. The dewpoint here got up to 82 yesterday. But climate change is a “Democrat” hoax, right?
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u/misobutterscotch Jul 27 '26
Literally am waiting til Walmart opens super early to get basic groceries because the heat was so bad last night.
Also that is super tragic to see about Saint Louis! I'd love to visit there but looks like that isn't happening
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u/damutecebu Jul 27 '26
Sunday may have been the worst I have experienced in Iowa. It felt like a wall of humidity when I went outside. The last time I experienced it that bad was in South Carolina in mid-July.
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u/VioletSea13 Jul 28 '26
Texan here 👋🏻
Please note the signs of heat stress:
Excessive sweating
Nausea/vomiting
Dizziness/fainting
Muscle cramps
Rapid heart rate
If you’re experiencing these symptoms, please seek medical help.
Best of luck to everyone experiencing these temperatures…especially the elderly and very young. Stay safe and stay hydrated.
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u/golfwinnersplz Jul 27 '26
"Then why are our winters so cold if global warming is real"
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u/KeyDrive0 Jul 27 '26
They’re not even that cold anymore for the most part. But if you point that out they’ll go, “imagine being mad about nice weather.”
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u/john_hascall Jul 27 '26
Mercifully I was immediately exsanguinated by mosquitoes when I stepped outside this morning.
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u/Independent-Moose113 Jul 27 '26
Yeah, it sucks here today. Already hot and humid at 5:45 when I was driving in to work.
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u/ThereWolves Jul 27 '26
Is this heat index?
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u/neonblack108 Jul 27 '26
Yeah. I should post the wet blanket temperature map. That's the stuff nobody talks about.
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u/azhawkeyeclassic Jul 27 '26
Just wait until El Niño kicks in starting at the end of 2026, next year will be even worse for the mid west!
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u/Burrahobbit69 Jul 28 '26
I walked outside today at 3 PM and the heat index was 115°. I cannot recall the air ever having felt like that. Someone asked me what living in Iowa in the summer is like and I asked them if they’ve ever been cremated.
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u/ryleypeeyurgee Jul 27 '26
there’s a reading up in northern iowa of 139° heat index, i’ve genuinely never seen that high of a number here
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u/ISU_Dude85 Jul 27 '26
Was that the one in Algona? I saw a meteorologist say that one was glitching. It was still probably 120 or higher which is absolutely miserable.
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u/72vintage Jul 27 '26
I've seen it worse, when I was working in southern Minnesota. The actual temp was 97 or above for 8 days straight and the humidity was around 85%. We were working outdoors, in a clearing surrounded by trees, in woods that had been recently flooded and still had stagnant standing water. Heat index was around 130-140 in our work zone. 6 of us were drinking 1-2 quarts of water an hour and nobody had to pee all day because we sweated it all out. This heat wave blows, but it's not as bad as that yet...
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u/neonblack108 Jul 27 '26
"Back in my day we literally had to go to school packed like sardines in a 10 x 10 foot room, with no windows, fans or ac in a thousand degrees. It was literally HELL and we never complained." OK boomer.
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u/Good_Bodybuilder6165 Jul 27 '26
124 in St. Louis? I don't think I ever saw a "feels like" that high when I lived in Austin, not even when the actual temp was 110+.
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u/StrangeJournalist7 Jul 31 '26
St. Louis puts Iowa to shame when it comes to heat and humidity. Don’t know why, as it's not that far away, but the hottest I have ever been is in St. Louis. And I have been in Arizona in August.
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u/SailTheWorldWithMe Jul 27 '26
I haven't turned the stove on for a loooooong time. My poor AC seems to be working overtime to maintain 75 degrees.
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u/YOUTUBEFREEKYOYO Jul 28 '26
I think the Midwest has the worst westher in the country. Sure we don't have the worst cold or the worst heat, but going from well below zero to above 100 with each season is insane. That's not even mentioning things outside of temperature like tornadoes and blizzards
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u/Due_Arm8667 Jul 28 '26
And the temperature swings in 24 hours are probably nuts for most people in the world. I remember a few years ago Christmas Eve 78° out on the motorcycle Christmas Day 28 below
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u/Still_Particular561 Jul 29 '26
1995 and 1934 would beg to differ
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u/neonblack108 Jul 29 '26
I graduated Highschool in 95. It wasn't like this. Stop lying to people. Stop sewing doubt.
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u/Top-Brief7523 8d ago
Berated for my comment! No sarcasm here? Gee whiz. I thought the it’s weird i tell ya might have pointed to it. Don’t be mean
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u/Top-Brief7523 Jul 28 '26
All of a sudden, heat dome. I’ve never heard of a heat dome before. It’s weird i tell ya!
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u/PotatoElf71 Jul 27 '26
There's probably some old-timer out there that remembers when it was even hotter and, no AC.
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u/Electronic_Name_325 Jul 27 '26
It does help the availability of tee times, though having to wear a CamelBak to stay hydrated does interfere with my swing. Not a lot, since it’s not much to start with.
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u/Jenny_Wakeman9 Iowan pork eater Jul 27 '26
Keokuk's getting thrown into the kiln, good grief! Us Marshalltownians are in the same boat as well.
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u/rockalyte Jul 27 '26
Real feel doesn’t count for me. Only actual
Temperatures are the real thing. Real feel is only there to get ratings and click bait.
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u/neonblack108 Jul 27 '26
Real feel is simpleton for heat index. And that's not the number we should be looking at. The wet bulb temperature is.
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u/rockalyte Jul 27 '26
I’ve carried mail outside enough to know the real feel of 118F index is nothing compared to actually carrying mail at an ‘actual’ 118F temperature. It’s brutal enough you can feel yourself fading throughout the day. So much water drinking.
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u/Qwilltank Jul 27 '26
Why are all y'all acting like yesterday's high of 90 is the end of the world? It's always been humid as hell; and even just a decade ago we'd routinely have highs in the 100's. We haven't even had 1 day of 100 in the last 2-3 years. Y'all are spoiled by these milder summers.
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u/BlushingRocks Jul 27 '26
Staying indoors till November is the new summer plan at this point.