A gorgeous Saturday across the Chicago area turned nasty in the evening as thunderstorms moved south out of Wisconsin. The Fox Valley was hardest hit as penny-sized hail fell in Crystal Lake, Wheaton and West Chicago. Local downpours produced radar estimates of more than 2” of rain. The heat-driven storms faded quickly as sunset approached.
More thunderstorms should frequent the Chicago area in the upcoming week as another surge of heat and humidity arrives. Temperatures should approach 90º by Monday and fluctuate around that level the rest of the week, while 70º-plus dew points will give the air a muggy feel.
Intense heat continues to bake the West as records tumbled Saturday from Texas to Oregon. Downtown Los Angeles sweltered at a record 101º while Burbank’s 112º came within one degree of its all-time high. Even Stanley, Idaho, known for its lowest-in-the-nation temperatures, tied its record high for July 22 with a 92º on Saturday.
--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.
