- Credibility:
SOUTH LOOP — The city could feel as hot as 110 degrees this weekend.
The near-record heat will hit on Friday and Saturday, when high humidity is expected to make the city feel even warmer than the mid-90 temperatures that have been predicted.
Thursday will start cooler with temperatures in the upper 80s, though it will still feel like the low 90s, said Casey Sullivan, a National Weather Service meteorologist. After that, things heat up: Friday and Saturday are expected to see temperatures top out in the mid-90s.
Factor in the high humidity predicted for those days and Chicago could feel as hot as 110 degrees on Friday and 105 degrees on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
“Friday and Saturday look like they’re gonna be very hot,” Sullivan said.
If the temperature predictions pan out, the city could face “potentially … dangerous levels” of heat, according to the National Weather Service. The agency said there’s a significant excessive heat risk on Friday and an elevated excessive heat risk for Saturday and Sunday.
“People would definitely want to limit their activities outside and drink plenty of non-alcoholic beverages, glasses of water,” Sullivan said. “If they have to be outside, take breaks.”
The temperatures are above normal for this time of year — June 29 and June 30 normally see high temperatures in the mid-80s — but they fall just short of the records for those days. June 29’s highest recorded temperature was 97 degrees, set in 1954, while June 30 hit a record 99 degrees in 1953.
The city’s temperatures on Friday and Saturday could “approach the records,” Sullivan said, but it’s too early to say if the records will be broken.
“We’re currently forecasting temperatures just below those, but we could get close,” Sullivan said.
