The mercury has not hit 90 degrees in Chicago since July 8 and 9 when readings peaked at a season’s high 94 degrees on back-to-back afternoons. Since then the official number of 90 degree-plus days this year has been stuck on 10 at O’Hare as temperatures have been limited to 70s and 80s during what is historically the hottest time of the year.
All that is likely to change this week as readings are expected to surge into the 90s on several days. And while clouds and thunderstorms are expected to put a damper on temperatures by the end of the week, a renewed and potentially prolonged surge of hot weather could return here by August's opening weekend.
The tropics remain quiet, but August marks the start of hurricane prime-time in the Atlantic. That region has been free of tropical cyclones since T.S. Barry's demise June 2, but forecasters are keeping an eye on a low pressure area in the central Bahamas that could develop into the season’s third named storm: Chantal.
--By Steve Kahn, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
