There’s an extreme heat watch starting tomorrow through Thursday in eastern Iowa. Heat indices of 95 to 105+ are expected.
There is a list available of cooling centers published by KCRG although that was published on June 20, 2025, so it is not current.
Heat safety tips are at this link.
There will be an excessive heat watch today. Stay cool!
Sena likes to be out in the garden no matter how blisteringly hot it is. A few days ago, she was planting some yellow coreopsis and lantana, whatever that is. It was 82 degrees and with the heat index (about 60% humidity), it felt like 86 degrees. Later in mid-afternoon it rose to 95 degrees with the heat index.
She came in for a break to get some cold water and suddenly remembered the cooling cloth called “Cold Snap” you can wear around your neck to stay cooler outside. You just run it under cold water from the tap and wrap it around your neck.
She also put on her headband to keep the sweat out of her eyes to prevent her tear ducts from plugging up. That happened a longish time ago. She had a lot of tearing, and went to the eye clinic where a faculty ophthalmologist thought she might have a more complicated problem than a blocked tear duct (nasolacrimal duct obstruction).
The Cleveland Clinic differential diagnoses of a blocked tear duct include infection, injury, or nasal and paranasal tumors. Just getting older can make your more susceptible to blocked tear ducts. Procedures include the polysyllabic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR, in which a bypass ductal drainage system is created) or alternatively, something which sounds like a last resort, the punctal plug.
The ophthalmologist recommended a complicated diagnostic and surgical treatment pathway the name of which she can’t remember (possibly something like those mentioned above) and said it was probably the only intervention that would work. Sena took exception to this and asked for something simpler. They arm wrestled, best two out of three, and Sena won.
So, the ophthalmologist finally just used a needle and syringe full of water and hosed the puncta. He and Sena both heard a small popping noise, and the obstruction was removed. The ophthalmologist was astonished and said it was a good teaching case for the residents. The problem was likely grime related to sweat and dirt—hence her use of a headband. She also uses baby shampoo to wash her eyes nowadays.
She never complains about the heat outside. She just gets out there in the garden and often stays out most of the day—no matter how worried I get about her.
There are ways to be heat aware in summer. The ReadyIowa web site on heat is a great resource.
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