Chicago’s lakefront is famously open and free. So why is a prime section of Montrose Beach roped off every summer? Because it’s for the birds. Literally. The piping plovers. WTTW News explains.

On May 16, Chicago saw its first major dust storm since the Dust Bowl. The storm dropped visibility in the city to near zero as wind gusts blew over 60 mph at times, according to the National Weather Service.

Nominee Adam Bianchi has more than 17 years of experience in public land and natural resource management with the U.S. Forest Service.

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, located on a mountaintop in Chile, was built to take a deeper look at the night sky, covering hidden corners. Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy, it will survey the southern sky for the next 10 years.

According to the National Weather Service, oppressive levels of heat and humidity will stick around through Monday afternoon, with highs expected in the mid 90s and heat indices topping out at 105 degrees.

Three eggs of piping plovers Imani and Sea Rocket hatched as of Friday at Montrose Beach, according to monitoring group Chicago Piping Plovers.

An extreme heat warning has been issued for Cook County from Saturday through Monday. Afternoon temperatures are predicted to be in the 90s. Coupled with high humidity, heat indices could reach 100-105 degrees each day, according to the National Weather Service.

Heat remains the deadliest form of extreme weather in the U.S., contributing to more than 800 deaths annually on average since 1999, a 2023 study found.

Friday is the longest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical summer. It’s the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the shortest day of the year and winter will start.

Thanks to a recent update to the arboretum’s website, gardeners will find it easier to broker a love connection between plants and pollinators.

The dazzling panoramic shot released Wednesday of the Sculptor galaxy by a telescope in Chile is so detailed that it’s already serving as a star-packed map.

The heat will be particularly worrisome this weekend across wide stretches of Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, where forecasters are warning of extreme temperature impacts.

Father's Day took on extra meaning this year for Lake County's piping plover papa Pepper — he's a dad again, at least three times over.

The Chicago Park District has announced that for the first time since 2020, all of the district's 50 outdoor pools will be open seven days a week, beginning Saturday, just as temperatures are expected to soar into the 90s.

According to the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort, 2025 has been a year for the record books, with 82 breeding pairs counted.

Just days after Brookfield Zoo issued the exciting announcement of the first bottlenose dolphin born at the zoo in more than a decade, staff is mourning the sudden death of the calf on Wednesday night.