‘Excessive heat’ to hit the Chicago area beginning today
You thought it was hot already in Chicago, just hitting 90 degrees? Well, the wave of “excessive heat” forecast for the area hasn’t even arrived yet.
Come Thursday afternoon, the temperature could hit 95 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
And the humidity could make it feel like 100 to 107 degrees, with the worst of it expected from 2 to 5 p.m., meteorologist Kevin Birk said Wednesday.
The weather service issued an “excessive heat” warning Wednesday, effective from Thursday afternoon through Saturday evening. Friday is forecast to be the hottest day in that stretch, with a high of 99.
It’s rare to get any hotter in Chicago. The last time the city had an official temperature of 100 degrees was in the summer of 2012, according to Birk.
The heat index — which factors humidity in with the temperature to give an idea of how things will feel — could reach 106 degrees in Chicago on Friday and 111 in some suburbs, according to the weather service.
The forecast high for Saturday is 96, with a heat index between 101 and 108.