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.
It’s the first time since July 6, 2012, Chicago has seen 100 degrees, the weather service said,.
#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
Thursday’s temperature was “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.
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 118 degrees in some parts of Chicago Thursday, tying a record set on July 13, 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 the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.
Relief is in sight as a cold front moves through, the weather service said. However, there is a threat of severe storms Thursday evening.
“We still think there may be a storm or two this evening, particularly across the northern suburbs,” said Brett Borchardt, senior meteorologist with the weather service.
“Anytime it’s this hot and humid out, we have to keep an eye for storms everywhere, but it seems the better chance is going to be closer to the lake,” he said.
A cold front is expected to enter the area overnight, with temperatures dropping to the lower 70s, then heading back up to the mid-to-upper 80s Friday.
The weekend calls for temperatures in the high 70s.
