“The ground is already really dry — it doesn’t take much for the heat to kind of just build up over there,” said Paul Pastelok, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “And that’s what makes it a bigger heat dome that we’re seeing right now.”In the Minneapolis area, better known for its foreboding winter conditions, forecasters said daily temperature records could fall on both Tuesday and Wednesday, with readings of 99 or 100 degrees possible. Meteorologists said high temperatures were forecast to reach up to 20 degrees above average throughout Iowa and neighboring states over the next few days. The humidity will make it feel even more oppressive, with heat indexes that could approach 120 degrees. Forecasters have issued heat alerts, ranging from advisories to excessive heat warnings, for roughly 100 million people across 22 states.

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Persons: ”, Paul Pastelok, Tyler Hasenstein, Amy Heinz Organizations: National Weather Service Locations: Minneapolis, Minnesota, Iowa, Adel , Iowa