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.
Weather
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch until 10 p.m. Wednesday for the Chicago area. Tornado warnings were issued for several regions.
Residents on the West side of the city and its surrounding suburbs were hit particularly hard by flooding. Some areas saw as much as 8 inches of rainfall on July 2, leading to flash floods and extensive property damage.
Heat preparedness has generally improved over the years. Chicago, for example, has expanded its emergency text and email notification system and identified its most vulnerable residents for outreach.
The entire city was drenched with torrential rain earlier this week, but residents on the West Side were hit especially hard as more than 8 inches of rain fell in the Austin community and nearby suburbs.
Earth’s average temperature set a new unofficial record high Thursday, the third such milestone in a week that prominent scientist says could be the hottest in 120,000 years. But it’s also a record with some legitimate scientific questions and caveats.
As much as 8 inches fell in certain areas over the weekend, followed by major flooding. Areas on the city’s West Side and western suburbs saw over 8 inches on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
June is expected to go down as one of the 10 driest months in the state’s history. Farmers are already seeing an impact on their crops and consumers are likely to see an impact soon.
Cities across the U.S. from Medford, Oregon to Tampa, Florida have been hovering at all-time highs, said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Beijing reported nine straight days last week when the temperature exceeded 95 F.
The last time Chicago saw nearly 9 inches of rain was Aug. 13-14, 1987, according to the National Weather Service. On average, the city gets 3.7 inches of rain during all of July, according to the National Weather Service.
Already wildfires are consuming three times more of the United States and Canada each year than in the 1980s, and studies predict fire and smoke to worsen.
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.
