Thirty-one counties in south-central and southeast Iowa will be under a heat advisory from one o’clock this afternoon through 7 PM Wednesday.

Meteorologist Abby Wyss, at the National Weather Service in Johnston, says we’re headed back into a steamy, muggy spell to wrap up summer.

“We’ve got hot temperatures coming in these next couple of weeks with heat indices reaching into the 100s this week,” Wyss says.

Many Iowa communities are reopening their cooling centers as daytime highs are predicted to reach into the 90s. Wyss says there may be some showers in the forecast later this week.

“There’s a slight chance most of the days,” she says. “It looks like Thursday morning in the north might be the best chance, but we’re keeping an eye on it.”

Today marks the end of meteorological summer for the northern hemisphere. Meteorological autumn starts Tuesday while the autumn equinox arrives on September 23rd at 7:06 PM.

If you go by the calendar, fall arrives September 22nd.

(Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)