The heat is on in Chicago, according to forecasters who say temperatures will continue to reach the 90s through Thursday.
The heat index Monday is expected to reach 100 degrees in areas away from the lake, according to the National Weather Service.
By 2 p.m. Monday, Chicago recorded 95 degree temps at O’Hare and Midway airports, almost tying record temps of 96 degrees set this year on July 7 and July 26.
Despite the excessive heat, the air this week won’t be “oppressively humid,” the weather service said in its forecast.
Hot weather for late August is in store this week with high temperatures in the low to mid 90s. There are low thunderstorms chances late tonight into Tuesday morning across far NE Illinois but the majority of the area is expected to remain dry through Thursday. #ILwx #INwx pic.twitter.com/nvl73dOM0o
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) August 24, 2020
Tuesday’s forecast calls for a high of 91 degrees at O’Hare, Chicago’s official weather station. There’s a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms overnight.
Wednesday and Thursday could be as hot as 95 degrees, the weather service said. That’s before showers move through the area Friday, when the high is forecast as 88 degrees.
Temperatures should drop by another 10 degrees over the weekend, with highs expected near 80 degrees on Saturday and 77 on Sunday, the weather service said.
Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications hasn’t released details on plans to activate its cooling centers.
In past heat waves, officials advised residents to check on the young and elderly, and to call 311 for assistance.
Last month, Chicago recorded its first heat-related death of the summer. A 95-year-old woman died July 7 on the Northwest Side during 91-degree heat. It was the third death in Cook County this year attributed to hot weather.
Last summer, five heat-related deaths were reported in countywide.
