Chicago weather: Gusty storms with tornado potential move through area Friday night
Powerful thunderstorms with potentially damaging winds were expected to move through the weather-fatigued Chicago area Friday evening following a day of stifling heat as temperatures soared into the high 90s, according to the National Weather Service.
The storms had to potential to produce tornadoes along with heavy rain, powerful winds and hail as a line of storms moves east into northern Illinois, according to the weather service. Two weeks ago, the same area saw 13 tornadoes form during a powerful storm on July 12. No injuries were reported. Prior to that, outlying city neighborhoods and numerous suburbs suffered widespread flooding that followed an early July storm.
The prospect of a cooling storm may be some comfort for residents who spent much of the day under a heat advisory.
High heat and humidity made for dangerous conditions, with hotter temperatures inland away from Lake Michigan. The heat index, which measures what the temperature feels like, reached 110 degrees away from the lake and 105 near the lake.
Offshore winds kept the lakefront warm throughout the day, said Kevin Doom, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville.
Severe thunderstorms were forecast for Friday evening but were unlikely to alleviate the heat, Doom said. “They’re probably going to kick off far too late.”
Potential storms will bring damaging winds, torrential rainfall and hail, weather officials said.
An air quality alert due to smoke from Canadian wildfires was in effect through the end of Friday. Doom said the heat is unlikely to make the bad air worse. Sensitive groups such as children and older adults are the most at risk, and the National Weather Service said to check air quality before venturing outside.
“The combination of the two just makes it an overall unpleasant day to be outside,” Doom said.
Those who work in air conditioner repairs said there was an increase in service requests Friday. A representative for Guardian Heating & Cooling Service in Irving Park said there was an uptick in calls throughout the week compared to the rest of the summer.
D’s Air & Heating Inc. in Humboldt Park usually gets two to three calls a day. On Friday, owner Darryl Joyner said they had about 10 calls, mostly from the West Side.
For people who have to be outside, such as construction workers, health and weather officials advise drinking lots of water and taking frequent breaks.
“From operating engineers who are operating heavy equipment to laborers that are out slagging on construction sites, people sometimes look at those jobs and think that they look easy,” said Edward Maher, spokesperson for International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.
Employers are generally good about providing water and breaks, but Maher said extreme heat makes it even more important.
“Having a safe and healthy workforce is the most important thing you can do in the construction industry,” he said.
Nicole Cantello, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 704, which represents the Chicago EPA employees, urged everyone to take care of themselves in this “double-whammy of environmental stressors,” referring to the heat advisory and air quality alert.
“We implore everyone to take care to protect themselves during this time of rising temperatures and dangerous climate-related environmental threats,” Cantello said in a statement.
Some community groups took advantage of the blistering temperatures to address the disparity in heat across Chicago. Throughout Friday, volunteers with the city’s Heat Watch program drove around neighborhoods with sensors to map the hottest areas, all in an effort improve heat safety strategies.
Friday’s data will be crucial as hot days become more common, said Pastor Booker Vance, partnership team lead with environmental nonprofit Elevate. The Environmental Protection Agency predicts that cities are likely to see more frequent and long extreme heat events due to climate change.
“Climate change is real and the way it’s impacting our communities is real,” Vance told the Tribune as he was getting ready for the afternoon session of Heat Watch.
An investigation by the Tribune found heat disparities in Chicago by race, ethnicity and also health insurance coverage. Vance said one of the first steps to addressing these disparities is community-first strategies, or listen to those most impacted.
“There’s some food issues, health disparities, all these things become highlighted,” Vance said. “We’ve got to figure out how to put the right people with the right folks.”
In cities, factors such as humidity, tree coverage, air flow, heavy traffic, roads, industrial areas, parking lots, density of buildings and concrete all contribute to how intense the heat feels, public health officials said.
“(Friday) is just a snapshot of data, to make heat and its disproportionate impacts visible,” said Raed Mansour, director of environmental innovation at the Chicago Public Health Department in a news release.
According to CDPH, residents should try to stay inside and turn on air conditioning because of the combination of the air quality alert and heat advisory.
Chicago residents can seek relief from the heat and bad air quality at any public library location, Chicago Park District field houses and splash pads around the city.
Cooling centers will be available at the following locations. Face masks are required and can be obtained at the centers:
Englewood Center, 1140 W. 79th St.
Garfield Center, 10 S. Kedzie Ave. (24 hours)
King Center, 4314 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
North Area Center, 845 W. Wilson Ave.
South Chicago Center, 8650 S. Commercial Ave.
Trina Davila Center, 4312 W. North Ave.
Residents can also call 311, check online at 311.chicago.gov or download the CHI311 app to request a wellness check by the city or get connected to health resources.
Cook County officials on Tuesday also announced the opening of cooling centers from Wednesday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and those can be found on the county’s website. The county is also opening cooling centers at the Skokie, Maywood and Bridgeview courthouses.
