Des Moines has a continental climate: cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers, both of which pull hard on the grid. Below: live conditions, the 7-day outlook, and what it means for electricity demand on the MISO (Iowa) grid.
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High and low temperatures, with the implied heating and cooling demand below.
Iowa is a quiet data-center heavyweight, home to large Microsoft, Google and Meta campuses, drawn by cheap, abundant wind power. Wind supplies a huge share of generation, so the grid balances variable output against a dual-peak demand pattern: deep winter heating and humid summer cooling. The interplay of wind lulls and temperature extremes is the thing to watch.
MISO peaks in summer on cooling, but Iowa winters bring sustained heating demand; wind output swings add a second variable.
See live MISO (Iowa) grid data →They measure how far the day's average temperature sits from a comfortable 65°F. Cooling degree days (CDD) count degrees above 65 and track air-conditioning demand; heating degree days (HDD) count degrees below 65 and track heating demand. More degree days means more energy used to keep buildings comfortable, and a higher grid load.
Temperature is the single biggest short-term driver of electricity demand. Hot afternoons and cold mornings push load toward the grid's limits, which is when prices rise and reliability is tested. Watching the forecast is watching the grid's next few days.
Live weather and the 7-day forecast come from Open-Meteo. Degree days are computed from the forecast highs and lows against a 65°F base. Live grid data is on the MISO (Iowa) region page.