Tough Iowans see a mild July

Iowans aren't much for bragging, and that's a good thing because the weather this July has given them little fodder for bombast.

While Hawkeye State residents typically tout their hardiness in the face of extremes, this July has been so mild that one almost cringes at the mention of it lest fickle Mother Nature punish us with a sweltering heat wave, or worse, a brutal winter.

Through the first 26 days of July, the average 24-hour temperature in Des Moines was 73.5 degrees. Historically, the average 24-hour temperature for July in the capital is 76.3 degrees.

The daily temperature range was below average 18 of the first 26 days of this month.

And while the mild middle month of the summer won't crack the 10 coolest on record, it certainly makes life easier for people who want to save a couple of bucks by idling the air conditioner.

"It makes it nice, sleeping with the windows open," said Mark Hacker, 60, of Des Moines, while visiting Gray's Lake on Sunday.

The cooler weather has made motorcycle riding and jogging more pleasant for Hacker. "It doesn't beat down on you," he said.

Well, that's true, but what about our state swagger? Those hot summers! Those cold winters! It's what makes us tough, grizzled and of sterner stuff than the softies in San Diego, the land of perpetual 75 degrees.

"If we got to vote, I vote we keep it like today," said Shelly Moore, 52, of Des Moines on a visit to the sculpture park on the west side of downtown Des Moines.

There is no democracy in the science of meteorology, but the forecast grants Moore's wish.

The National Weather Service predicts highs in the upper 70s and low 80s and lows in the upper 50s and low 60s for the four final days of July.

August typically averages about 2 degrees cooler than July, so we're likely stuck with a summer milder than the food at a Methodist potluck.

There is hope, however, for a character-building winter of ice and snow.

But perhaps it is too late. This milquetoast weather has made us soft. Jerry Farajalla, 52, of Des Moines, shuddered at the thought of winter.

"The only thing that stops me is snow," Farajalla said.

At least he has an excuse. Farajalla is from South Sudan, Africa. There they do July right. The predicted high today in Juba, South Sudan, is 90.