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Summer 2024 in Chicago Was One for the Weather Record Books — Not for Heat but for Tornadoes

(Qoqazian / iStock)(Qoqazian / iStock)

Temperature records were set across the U.S. this summer as scores of cities experienced one of the hottest summers on record.

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That wasn’t the story in Chicago.

Here, the summer of 2024 will be remembered not for extreme heat but for the wild derecho event in mid-July that spawned more tornadoes in a single day than typically occur in an entire year.

(National Weather Service Chicago)(National Weather Service Chicago)

According to a climate summary from the National Weather Service, temperatures and precipitation recorded at O’Hare Airport (Chicago’s official weather station) for “meteorological” summer — June, July and August — weren’t too far above or below normal.

The average temperature for summer 2024 was 74.6 degrees, or 1.3 degrees above normal. The average high temperature was 83.7 degrees, or 1.2 degrees above normal, while the average low temperature was 65.5 degrees, or 1.4 degrees above normal. 

Record daily high temperatures were set on June 17 when the mercury hit 97 degrees, and on Aug. 27 when gauges hit 99 degrees.

By contrast, Phoenix just notched its 100th straight day of 100-degree temperatures, and averaged a sweltering 98.9 degrees for the summer, nearly 25 degrees hotter than Chicago. 

(National Weather Service Chicago)(National Weather Service Chicago)

On the precipitation front, 11.59 inches of rain was measured at O’Hare, just .47 inches below normal. That total included 1.6 inches that fell on July 13, setting a daily record.

The city actually was on track for normal to above-normal rainfall until August ran dry — the month came in at 2.6 inches of precipitation, or 1.64 inches below normal.

While some parts of the Midwest are currently experiencing “abnormally dry” conditions, no region in Illinois has even reached the threshold for “moderate” drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Tree damage in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood following July 15 derecho. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)Tree damage in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood following July 15 derecho. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

If this summer was relatively comfortable for Chicago’s human residents, it wasn’t a great year to be a tree.

The July 15 derecho, on top of a powerful storm that blew through on July 14, damaged thousands of trees — 6,500 were felled in Chicago alone.

After conducting site surveys, teams from the National Weather Service ultimately confirmed 32 tornadoes were spawned by the derecho in northeast Illinois.

“Prior to this event, there was only one time in recorded history where 32 or more tornadoes were confirmed in a single calendar year in the Chicago forecast area,” the weather service said.

The 10- to 20-year average for tornadoes in the forecast area is 15 in a year, and July typically only sees one. The 11 tornadoes that struck in Cook County set a record for a single weather event, as did the four that touched down in Chicago.  

In addition to the four tornadoes confirmed in Chicago on July 15, another two hit the city on July 14, marking the first time in recorded history that tornadoes struck the city on back-to-back days, the weather service said.

Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 |  [email protected]


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