This past weekend brought Chicagoans a welcome respite from last week’s heat and humidity, but all that is about to change as the city braces for a week highlighted by heat, humidity, and frequent showers and thunderstorms. Highs should approach 90º on Monday but with only moderate humidity levels. By Tuesday, dew points should reach the uncomfortable 70º threshold, where they should remain for the rest of the week. Excessively high temperatures are not expected as cloudiness and an almost daily occurrence of showers and thunderstorms should keep daily highs between the upper 80s and lower 90s. That was not the case last year when the mercury soared to 102º on July 24, bringing the city its first triple-digit high since the heat wave of July 1999.
Intense heat continues to scorch the West as temperature records tumbled. Fresno, Calif., reached 113° Sunday. Pasco in south-central Washington sizzled at 112°; nearby Yakima reached 109°.
--By Steve Kahn, WGN-TV Weather Center Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
