Cooling centers and splash pads are open to help people cope with oppressive heat that will feel like 115 degrees.
Weather
Despite knowing about the perils of global warming for decades, many cities are proving to be woefully unprepared. Many solutions are based on time-tested design principles. Here are five things cities are doing right now to combat rising temperatures.
The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat watch for Wednesday and Thursday, when the combination of high temperatures and oppressive humidity are expected to create dangerous conditions.
Cook County residents are now eligible for assistance, including grants for temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, officials said.
Dogs trained to find bodies sniffed through piles of rubble and ash as stunned survivors of deadly wildfires that killed at least 80 people on the Hawaiian island of Maui took stock of their shattered lives and tried to imagine rebuilding from nothing.
A flyover of historic Lahaina showed entire neighborhoods that had been a vibrant vision of color and island life reduced to gray ash. Block after block was nothing but rubble and blackened foundations. Boats in the harbor were scorched, and smoke hovered over the town.
A wildfire tore through the heart of the Hawaiian island of Maui in total darkness Wednesday, reducing much of a historic town to ash and forcing people to jump into the ocean to flee the flames. At least six people died and dozens were wounded.
The United States is now at a record 15 different weather disasters that caused at least $1 billion in damage this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced. It’s the most mega-disasters through the first seven months of the year since the agency tracked such things starting in 1980.
Illinois has seen 107 tornadoes in 2023, according to the National Weather Service. That makes it the state with the most tornadoes this year. While Illinois holds this title, scientists caution the thought of adding the Prairie State to Tornado Alley.
Along the way the air conditioner of the truck failed, causing the temperature to rise in the cargo area of the truck, according to the post. Temperatures in the Chicago area reached 92 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday, the National Weather Service said.
Parts of the Chicago area are under excessive heat warnings and heat advisories Thursday with temperatures expected to top out at 96 degrees along with a heat index into the triple digits, according to the National Weather Service.
It might come as a surprise given our proximity to Lake Michigan, but some of Chicago’s neighbors could soon be facing a water shortage. According to a new report, flooding and scarcity can “wildly alternate in the same place or transpire in proximity to each other.”
The long-term forecast looks bleak. The extreme heat could continue into August in some of the hardest-hit areas and even a brief glimmer of cooler hope for some parts of the country headed into the weekend will only mean new areas swelter as a heat dome slides west.
Extensive swaths of the northern United States awoke to unhealthy air quality Monday morning or were experiencing it by midafternoon.
No injuries were reported when Wednesday’s storms ripped roofs from buildings and toppled trees in the Chicago area and points west. One tornado touched down near O’Hare Airport, sending passengers dashing for shelter and disrupting hundreds of flights.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch until 10 p.m. Wednesday for the Chicago area. Tornado warnings were issued for several regions.
