Warm Weather In The Quad Cities Warms Up the Mississippi River By 16 Degrees

There is no denying it's been a steamer this week in the Quad Cities. Highs in the 90s with the heat index reaching 100° a couple of times. But if you think back to last week, we only broke 60° on Wednesday, until we saw the quick transition to warmer weather on Saturday. While we know the air temperature got really warm, how warm did the Mississippi River get due to this hot weather?

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From Monday, May 2nd, to Friday, May 6, we had some pretty cool weather. Temperatures only reached into the mid-50s and barely into the 60s. After two days of spring on Saturday and Sunday, temperatures shot up to the upper-80s and eventually to the upper-90s making it really hot in our area.

While we've been sweating our butts off, the Mississippi River has been warming up as well.

We looked at the temperature of the Mississippi River at Lock & Dam 15 since it's right in the middle of the Quad Cities. According to RiverGages.com, which is run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, on Friday, May 6th, the Mississippi River was sitting at a chilly 52°. The high for May 6th was 59°.

Fast forward to this hot week in the Quad Cities. With highs in the 90s most of the week, the Mississippi River temperature shot up quite a bit thanks to summer coming early. At 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 12th, the Mississippi River now sits at a warm 68°. That's a 16° difference in less than 1 week. Wow!

Temperatures are supposed to cool off early next week and dip down into the low-70s, but if you have a boat, the Mississippi River is getting warmer to head out on the open water.