It’s the heat and the humidity that have made the past couple of days in Chicago uncomfortable as temps hit 100 degrees amid “oppressive humidity,” the National Weather Service said Thursday afternoon.
“O’Hare has just hit 100 degrees F. This is the first time since 7/6/2012 that Chicago has officially observed a 100°F temperature. This also ties Chicago’s daily high temperature record for this date set in 1947,” the weather service said in a post on X Thursday afternoon.
#Chicago-O'Hare has just hit 100°F. This is the first time since 7/6/2012 that Chicago has officially observed a 100°F temperature. This also ties Chicago's daily high temperature record for this date set in 1947. #ilwx
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) August 24, 2023
The rising temperature has “been a steady climb upward,” said Todd Kluber, a meteorologist with the weather service. “We started pretty warm this morning — the low was only 81 at O’Hare, so that gave it a good start to the day to get those temperatures up quicker.”
The day started “with this really warm air mass that allowed us to get up to 100,” Kluber said.
Earlier, the weather service said the highest recorded heat index is 118, set on July 13, 1995, “and that is also potentially in jeopardy of being tied/broken.”
On Wednesday, a record was set for the hottest Aug. 23 recorded. The previous record was 97, and Wednesday’s temperature reached 98.
The heat and humidity made it feel like 116 degrees in some parts of Chicago — just 2 degrees shy of the highest heat index ever recorded in the city in 1995, according to the weather service. The heat index is a measure of what the temperature feels like when factoring in humidity.
“The hot and humid air mass that has blanketed the area the past few days is on the high end of oppressive humidity that we can experience here during the summer,” the weather service said early Thursday afternoon in another post on X.
Relief is in sight as a cold front moves through, the weather service said. However, there is a threat of severe storms for Thursday evening. “The main threats are damaging winds, frequent lightning, and hail,” the weather service said.
Temps for Friday will be a “cooler” 82-90 degrees, with temps in the mid-70s to low 80s forecast for the weekend.
