The mercury reached 90 degrees in Chicago for the first time in 2009 at 12:09 p.m. Tuesday on its way to the warmest June high temperature in the city in four years.
The 94-degree high at O'Hare International Airport equaled last summer's hottest temperature.
This year the heat is late to arrive in Chicago. Since 1928 at Midway Airport, an average of five highs of 90 degrees or warmer have occurred by this date.
Heat fuels Iowa storms
Near triple-digit heat in Iowa fueled powerful thunderstorms with cloud tops that towered to 57,000 feet and sent temperatures diving more than 20 degrees while producing 60 m.p.h. wind gusts and numerous reports of large hail.
The storm cluster began Monday evening in Colorado and is the latest in a series to rotate around the periphery of a dome of hot air in what meteorologists refer to as a "ring of fire" pattern.
The 94-degree high at O'Hare International Airport equaled last summer's hottest temperature.
This year the heat is late to arrive in Chicago. Since 1928 at Midway Airport, an average of five highs of 90 degrees or warmer have occurred by this date.
Heat fuels Iowa storms
Near triple-digit heat in Iowa fueled powerful thunderstorms with cloud tops that towered to 57,000 feet and sent temperatures diving more than 20 degrees while producing 60 m.p.h. wind gusts and numerous reports of large hail.
The storm cluster began Monday evening in Colorado and is the latest in a series to rotate around the periphery of a dome of hot air in what meteorologists refer to as a "ring of fire" pattern.
