It was the East Coast rather than sections of the Midwest which baked in record triple-digit heat Wednesday. For the first time in weeks, temperatures backed away from the 90s and 100s across the nation’s heartland. The dramatic pullback included Chicago’s September-level 74° high at O’Hare—the city’s lowest daytime high in nearly six weeks. It hasn’t been cooler here since 71° on June 18. The retreat was especially noticeable in a summer over which daily highs have finished, by a margin of nearly 6 to 1, above rather than below normal. The nearly two-month period since June 1 now ranks 6th warmest of all comparable periods on record here since 1871. It is also the 7th driest June 1-July 28 period in that 135 year span—and that’s with Tuesday’s beneficial rains included.
The heat was intense to the east Wednesday. Record highs included 100° at New York’s La Guardia Airport, 101° at Newark, N.J., and 102° at Raleigh, N.C.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
