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A broken record; O’Hare hits 103 again
Updated: October 24, 2012 10:11PM
Another day, another 100-degree temperature and another heat record for Chicago, which set an all-time high for the day Friday afternoon and matched its longest-ever streak of 100-degree days at three.
And the heat wave that has had the area in its grip this week is not letting up. Friday marked the third record-setting day and relief may not come until Sunday, with Saturday now expected to reach a high near 100.
An excessive heat warning in effect for all of northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana until 10 p.m. Friday has been extended to 4 p.m. Saturday for Cook, Lake, Kane, DuPage, McHenry and Lake (Ind.) counties, according to the National Weather Service. The warning is in effect until 7 p.m. Saturday for Will and Kankakee counties.
As of about 3 p.m. Friday the temperature at O’Hare International was 103, while Midway had reached 102 degrees, with a heat index of 107 degrees at both airports, according to the weather service. Lansing at 101 degrees and Wheeling at 100 degrees were the other area reporting stations checking in with triple digits.
That breaks the record high for July 6 of 99 degrees set in 1988. And the high temperature Friday could reach 104, according to the weather service. Temperatures will fall into the lower 90s in the late afternoon along Lake Michigan.
“It’s likely to be similar to what the city experienced Thursday,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Friedlein. “But a breeze coming off the lake in the afternoon should be just enough to stop us hitting the all-time record” of 105.
It marked only the third three-day streak of 100-degree-plus days since records began in the 19th century, and the first since 1947.
And if the 100 forecast for Saturday holds, it would mark the first time ever the city has seen four straight days of triple-digit temps.
The all-time heat record of 105 degrees was set on July 24, 1934.
