Iowa State University Extension Crop Specialist Brian Lang says growing degree days should be higher than normal in Northeast Iowa for the next week. That's in good part due to a weather forecast which predicts warm nights. Says Lang, "The warm nights add a lot to the daily above average growing degree days."
The National Weather Service says a "blocking high" will be in place for the next week: "Blocking patterns occur when centers of high pressure and/or low pressure set up over a region in such a way that they prevent other weather systems from moving through. When the blocking pattern is in place other systems are forced to go around it. Blocking patterns can remain in place for several days, resulting in long spans of persistent weather for locations under the block. A blocking high is typically a summertime occurrence. Blocking highs are responsible for major heat waves. Any precipitation is usually shunted around the periphery of the high-pressure area."