(Radio Iowa) – After a cool morning with some overnight lows in the 50s, forecasters say Iowa is in for a “prolonged heat event” next week. Meteorologist Alex Krull, at the National Weather Service, says the switch from July to August will bring us some excessively hot days, with highs in the low 90s expected Sunday and Monday. “Tuesday, we’re looking at actual air temperatures between the mid 90s and upper 90s and that’ll send heat index values — or the feels-like temperature — above 100 degrees,” Krull says.

“Then Wednesday, we’re looking at upper 90s for the actual air temperatures, and it may be possible for us to cross over 100 degrees and we’ll likely be looking at heat index values anywhere between 105 to 107 degrees.” Iowans will need to take precautions to cope with the steamy weather. “If you have any plans to be outdoors during the middle of this upcoming week, please plan accordingly,” Krull says. “Have plenty of water to stay hydrated and have a place to cool down, whether that be in a car that has working air conditioning or a building that is air-conditioned and shaded properly.”

Krull says the pattern of above-normal temperatures will continue perhaps for another ten days. “When we have this kind of pattern in July and August, it typically results in very hot and humid conditions throughout the next couple of weeks,” Krull says. “There may be some possibilities for rain showers and thunderstorms and anytime that those occur, they can provide some relief to the excessive temperatures.” The heat wave isn’t hitting just Iowa. Above-normal temps are forecast through the first week of August from Nebraska all the way to New York.