Des Moines, IA Weather

The Wolfecast

It's a hot, humid night with partly cloudy skies and no rain expected. Lows only drop to around 77°F.

Tomorrow

Extreme heat cranks up Monday with a high near 97°F and heat index values approaching 110°F. A slight chance of storms arrives late Monday night as a front pushes in from the northwest.

86°

ClearL:77°

Wear

Shorts & tee

Rain

No umbrella

8:45 PM

Extreme Heat Warning issued June 28 at 3:56PM CDT until June 30 at 9:00PM CDT by NWS Des Moines IA

Today–Tomorrow

An Extreme Heat Warning is in effect through Tuesday evening. Highs near 97°F both Monday and Tuesday, with heat index values that could touch 110°F and overnight lows barely dipping to the upper 70s.

Mon–Tue

A frontal boundary pushes into the area Monday night, bringing a chance of strong storms. Large hail is the main threat if storms fire, given steep lapse rates and CAPE values over 4,000 J/kg.

Mon night

The heat doesn't break for the holiday week. Highs stay in the 90s with heat indices above 100°F right through the Fourth of July weekend.

Wed–Sat

Rain Check5 days · HRRR + blend

No rain expected through Thursday

Highest chance: Thursday evening at 27%.

Today

—

Mon

—

Tue

25%

Wed

25%

Thu

27%

Shade = chance · bars = amountNights dark · tap to inspect

You're in the clear tonight and through most of tomorrow — the forecast keeps Des Moines dry with just a minimal chance of a brief shower late tomorrow evening around 7 or 8 PM, though nothing is expected to accumulate. Looking ahead to Tuesday through Thursday, rain chances stay low at 25 percent or less each day, so expect a generally dry stretch into the latter part of the week.

HRRR Simulated Radar

Tropical Tidbits

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7-Day Forecast

Today

Jun 28

Partly Cloudy

77°

Mon

Jun 29

Mostly Sunny

97°

77°

Tue

Jun 30

Sunny

96°

76°

Wed

Jul 1

25%

Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Sunny

95°

76°

Thu

Jul 2

28%

Chance Showers And Thunderstorms

96°

74°

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Why This Forecast

NWS DMX Analysis

Issued Jun 28, 6:50 PM

Tonight'll stay warm and partly cloudy with a low around 77°F, then Monday cranks up to 97°F under mostly sunny skies. The real story starts Monday night into Tuesday morning, when a shortwave (a dip in the jet stream carrying cooler air aloft) lifts out of the Dakotas and a cold front tags along behind it. That'll trigger a chance for showers and storms across northwestern Iowa around midnight and into early Tuesday. Des Moines itself looks mostly dry Monday night (24% chance), but it's worth watching if that activity shifts south.

We're in the grip of an upper-level ridge, that dome of high pressure sitting overhead around 30,000 feet. It's pumping warm, humid air northward from the Gulf and essentially blocking any weather systems from moving through quickly. The heat indices are running over 105°F already, and that's why an Extreme Heat Warning covers all of central and southern Iowa through Tuesday evening. When a cold front does try to push through Monday night, the warm layer of air near the ground actually acts as a barrier to storm development. But if storms do fire up in the northwestern counties, the setup favors large hail because of strong wind shear and very warm, moist air in the mid-levels of the atmosphere.

Look for another round of storm chances Tuesday evening into Wednesday as another feature in that big trough tries to roll through, though the models disagree on whether anything actually reaches Des Moines. The main takeaway through the Fourth of July: this heat ridge barely budges. Highs'll stay in the 90s daily with overnight lows bottoming out in the mid-to-upper 70s, meaning there's almost no cool-down. That's the real threat right now—not the storms, but the relentless heat with little overnight relief.

Updated 9:28 PM

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About the weather in Des Moines, IA

Wolfecast gives you the Des Moines, IA forecast the way a meteorologist would explain it to a neighbor. Instead of just a number, we read the National Weather Service forecast discussion issued by the DMX office, translate it into plain English, and tell you how confident to be and why. The radar loop above comes from the KDMX station, and every forecast is grounded in official NWS data for your exact location.

Check back each morning for an updated read on temperature swings, rain timing, and any storms worth watching around Des Moines. Want alerts when rain is minutes away? Install Wolfecast and turn on notifications.