Iowa 7-Day Forecast: Highs Climb From 88°F to 94°F Through July 18

What changed

The National Weather Service forecast for central Iowa (Des Moines area) lays out a steady ramp-up in temperatures over the next seven days:

| Day | High (°F) | Low (°F) | |---|---|---| | Fri Jul 11 (Today) | 88 | 65 | | Sun Jul 12 | 89 | 66 | | Mon Jul 13 | 90 | 68 | | Tue Jul 14 | 92 | 70 | | Wed Jul 15 | 93 | 72 | | Thu Jul 16 | 94 | 73 | | Fri Jul 17 | 94 | 74 |

Today's high sits at 88°F with a low tonight of 65°F. By Sunday, the high edges up to 89°F with a low of 66°F. Monday reaches 90°F with a 68°F low. Tuesday pushes to 92°F and a 70°F overnight. Wednesday hits 93°F with a 72°F low. Thursday and Friday both top out at 94°F, with lows of 73°F and 74°F respectively.

Why it matters

Mid-July heat in the low-to-mid 90s is worth watching for any corn that's tasseling or silking right now. Daytime highs in the 90s combined with overnight lows creeping into the low 70s mean the crop gets less nighttime cooling to recover. The trend here — lows rising from 65°F early in the period to 74°F by Friday night — could matter as much as the daytime peaks for pollination stress.

Soybeans in vegetative stages generally handle this range, but fields already short on moisture may show stress faster as the week goes on.

What to watch next

• Updated NWS forecasts — seven-day outlooks shift, so check back for any changes to the Thursday–Friday peak.
• Overnight lows — if lows push above 75°F in later updates, that raises the heat-stress concern another notch.
• Rainfall chances — this forecast covers temperatures only. Precipitation outlooks for the same period are worth tracking separately.

Source notes

All temperature data from the U.S. National Weather Service API, Des Moines (DMX) grid point 73,49. Forecast issued for periods July 11–18, 2026.