Expect normal temperatures, possible rain on RAGBRAI

Anyone who remembers last year’s hot and humid RAGBRAI can breathe a sigh of relief.

Next week is set to be hot, but not nearly as hot as last year. And not even nearly as hot as Iowa has already seen this summer.

Riders cool off in a slip and slide at the Broken Arrow Ranch outside Marcus on Sunday, July 22, 2012. (Rodney White/The Register)

Anyone who remembers last year’s hot and humid RAGBRAI can breathe a sigh of relief.

Next week is set to be hot, but not nearly as hot as last year. And not even nearly as hot as Iowa has already seen this summer.

The first few days of the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa will bring slightly cooler temperatures, with highs between 85 and 90 degrees, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Miles Schumacher.

The high temperatures in Council Bluffs, the starting town, will be 86 degrees Saturday, during the expo, and Sunday, the day bikers begin their trek.

Temperatures will stay in the same range Monday, meteorologists said.

“It does look like we’re going to see another spike of heat Tuesday and Wednesday, then a few days of cooling behind that,” Schumacher said.

Tuesday and Wednesday could bring highs in the 90s, but then temperatures will return to the upper 80s for the rest of the week.

Meteorologists aren’t predicting a heat index far above the actual high temperature.

Some rain on the route will be a possibility, with a chance of thunderstorms in Council Bluffs Saturday night and Sunday.

Another storm system will move through the state mid to late next week that could also produce thunderstorms, though meteorologists don’t expect heavy or sustained rain.

“It will be fairly comparable to what we’re seeing now on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Schumacher said. “It’s not likely to get much worse than this.”

Be sure to download RAGBRAI’s new iOS app for the latest WHO-TV forecasts during the ride, route maps and more.

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