For the 30th time in 2005, temperatures at Midway Airport exceeded 90° Tuesday. The day’s high of 95° at both Midway and O’Hare—just 2 degrees shy of the 1913 record of 97°—tied as the city’s fourth warmest temperature to date. The warmest here has been 102° on July 24. An Aug. 9 hasn’t been warmer in 61 years—since a 97° high in 1944.
Tuesday’s heat pushes the average temperature at Midway Airport since June 1 to 77.4°, a reading 4.4 degrees above normal and advances the Meteorological Summer 2005 season to a ranking of 2nd warmest since 1928. Though heat relief is on the way, history strongly suggests Chicagoans haven’t seen the last of 90° temperatures. In previous comparably dry summers, an average of seven additional 90s have occurred beyond Aug. 10.
Every reporting station in the metro area reached or exceeded 90° Tuesday. Interestingly, the hottest area readings were at Rockford and Kenosha—both 97°.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
