Sweltering Midwest heat cancels outdoor plans as cooling centers open and the East braces

By — Hannah Fingerhut, Associated Press Hannah Fingerhut, Associated Press By — Kathy McCormack, Associated Press Kathy McCormack, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/sweltering-midwest-heat-cancels-outdoor-plans-as-cooling-centers-open-and-the-east-braces Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Sweltering Midwest heat cancels outdoor plans as cooling centers open and the East braces Nation Jun 29, 2026 5:20 PM EDT DES MOINES, Iowa — Summer camp and other outdoor activities were canceled or delayed Monday as a heat wave held its grip on the Midwest and spread eastward. Communities opened cooling centers and urged people to take it easy and stay hydrated. "Overall, we're looking at just a really hot and humid pattern. It's going to be with us through most of the week," Andrew Ansorge, a meteorologist in Des Moines, Iowa, said of the first prolonged period of heat this summer. Much of Iowa and big chunks of the Midwest were under an extreme heat warning through at least Tuesday. Temperatures were forecast to reach the 90s, with heat index values, or "feels-like" temperatures, expected to top 100 degrees (37.8 degrees Celsius) in the region, Ansorge said. Visiting Des Moines with family, Rachel Washburn searched for things to do with kids during a heat wave. They landed at a water sprayground before lunch, where her children played tag in the cool water to escape a heat index forecast to reach 109 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius). WATCH: Why Earth's melting glaciers matter more than we think "My kids were quite shocked at the heat and humidity," said Washburn of her seven children ages 18 months to 17 who are used to more temperate weather in Bemidji, Minnesota. "We were hoping for some good weather, but we'll make do." Some of the worst conditions are expected by Thursday and Friday as the heat moves through the Ohio Valley, the Mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast, with the potential for some record-high temperatures, said Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. On Monday morning, Tom and Cindy Youngblood walked around an outdoor sculpture park in Des Moines, enjoying brief moments of shade and a helpful breeze. The couple, both 67 and from Rogers, Arkansas, returned from a camping trip in Wisconsin and chose a hotel over their camper van Sunday. "We did not want to camp last night because we knew it would be too hot," Cindy Youngblood said. Kleebauer said one of the center's biggest recommendations is to stay hydrated and have access to shady areas and air conditioning. "It just so happens to be coinciding with a time frame where a lot of people are away and a lot of people are going away for vacation" during the Fourth of July holiday week, he said. Extreme heat has also taken its toll in Europe, where temperature records were set and many heat-related deaths were reported in France. People