Experts say the drought in the central U.S. is the worst since at least 2012, and in some areas, is drawing comparisons to the 1988 drought that devastated corn, wheat and soybean crops.

According to data from the Illinois EPA, Chicago’s Air Quality Index was at a 185 as of Thursday morning, placing it in the “unhealthy” range. That means older adults, people with heart or lung disease and children and teens should avoid strenuous outdoor activities.

Air quality hit unhealthy levels, with the Department of Public Health encouraging people to limit their time outdoors and avoid strenuous activities.

Thunderstorms are as much a part of the rhythm of summer in Chicago as cookouts, baseball and street festivals. And they’ve been missing in 2023.

According to the National Weather Service, conditions continue to deteriorate across Northeast Illinois, with the Chicago metro area experiencing the most significant rainfall deficits. 

The entire state of Minnesota and most of Wisconsin were under air quality alerts Wednesday as a gray haze from wildfire smoke shifted south, according to the National Weather Service.

While Canadian officials asked other countries for help fighting more than 400 blazes nationwide that already have displaced 20,000 people, air quality with what the U.S. rates as hazardous levels of pollution extended into central New York.

Chicago is one of 18 cities chosen for the Heat Watch Campaign, which will map the city's urban heat islands — places with fewer trees and more pavement, where temperatures can soar 20 degrees higher than surrounding areas.

State climatologist Trent Ford said conditions aren't alarming, yet, but if June isn't signficantly wetter than May, there's cause for concern.

With high temperatures in the forecast, city officials issued a reminder to landlords about new air conditioning requirements, put in place in 2022 after three women died in a Rogers Park senior living facility.

Chicago has recorded less than half an inch of rain in May, leading to what climate experts call a flash drought.

Smoke from raging wildfires in western Canada has reached Chicago, creating hazy skies and making for redder sunrises and sunsets.

Right on cue, the much hyped “pneumonia front” hit Chicago shortly after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, sending the official temperature at O’Hare International Airport plummeting from 81 degrees to 66 degrees in short order.

The crashes occurred late in the morning and involved 40 to 60 passenger cars and multiple tractor-trailers, two of which caught fire, Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said. The highway was shut down in both directions in Montgomery County, 75 miles north of St. Louis.

The peak water levels this spring will likely rank in the top 10 of all time in many places, but the National Weather Service said river levels will generally remain well below past records. 

A small number of people had to leave their homes in Wisconsin as the river kept rising. Others stacked sandbags in the small community of Buffalo, Iowa, in anticipation of flooding this weekend and early next week.