The high temperature tied a record at 102 today.
And while the Chicago area hasn’t seen three straight days in the 100s since 1947, that could change this week.
The temperature hit 102 degrees at the official recording station at O’Hare International Airport at 1:42 p.m., according to the National Weather Service, although the official temperature at 2 p.m. was back to 101. And WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling is forecasting a high around 101 on Thursday and 100 on Friday.
The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning for Cook County through Friday night, along with much of the collar counties.
Chicago last saw the Fourth of July get this firecracker-hot when the record was set at 102 degrees in 1911. The record for today comes from preliminary data and is subject to later revision by the National Climatic Data Center, according to the National Weather Service. The record for Thursday is also 102 from 1911, and the record for Friday is 99 set in 1988.
At 9 p.m., it was 92 at O’Hare, with a heat index of 97; 93 at Midway, with an index of 97; 95 at Northerly Island, index of 102; 91 in Waukegan, index of 96; and 87 at DuPage Airport, index of 93.
The sweltering heat is the product of an expansive mass of hot air that is draped across the country, from the Southwest deserts to the East Coast, and has set several thousand new record temperatures in the past week, according to Skilling.
The heat also led to road closures as some roadways were buckling in various areas including downtown. Columbus Drive was closed between Balbo Drive and Roosevelt Road as a large portion of the road buckled, apparently from the heat, Chicago police said.
The sizzling weather has festival organizers adding water attractions as well as emergency medical staff and bottled water to keep crowds cool. In Palatine, Fire Department personnel on bicycles pedaled through the Jaycees Hometown Fest on Tuesday, searching for anyone who was overheated. The festival continues through 5 p.m. Wednesday.
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“It feels like you just got out of the shower,” said Georgia Orr, owner of Georgie’s Greek Tasty Food, a vendor that had employees working in rotations at the grill and using ice packs to cool off.
Jackie Butler, co-chair of Hometown Fest, said officials added two misting hoses and bought nearly 9,000 bottles of water.
In Naperville, organizers of the annual Ribfest, which started Friday and ran through Tuesday, attached a hose to the slide of a popular children’s attraction. Barbecue stand workers took turns sitting in the freezer truck.
And the host of a children’s show encouraged the kids to join him onstage — provided they wore shoes.
“If you have bare feet you will cook your feet,” he warned the audience.
The festival offered three emergency medical service tents, where several visitors stopped each hour to cool off. Medical staff transported four to five people each day to Edward Hospital, with most complaining of heat exhaustion, said Lt. Amy Scheller of the Naperville Fire Department.
Scheller cautioned Fourth of July revelers to stay hydrated as the heat wave continues.
“Anyone is susceptible if they don’t prepare,” she said.
Lake Michigan often can take the edge off high temperatures in areas near the water, but that hasn’t been the case recently. Even at night, temperatures in Chicago have remained in the 80s while water temperatures along the shoreline have been in the mid-70s, according to Castro of the weather service.
The high temperatures are the result of a slow-moving dome of heat over the center of the country, he said, adding that normal highs are in the mid-80s.
At Navy Pier, dozens of people armed themselves with water bottles and ice cream to try to keep cool. Children used a more direct approach, splashing in the large fountain near the front entrance.
At Navy Pier, indoor areas not normally open, like the Grand Ballroom, will be opened as cooling center throughout the day through the Pier’s closing at midnight. Misters will also be in use on the pier.
In a tiny lemonade and nut stand on the pier, Alfonso Delgado, 28, did his best to abide by three rules: drink water, munch on ice chips and sit still.
“It’s like an oven,” joked Delgado, who lives near Humboldt Park. “I’m baking myself.”
Nearby, Lauren Finno, 23, and Farah Davis, 31, along with Davis’ two sons, took a break from their hourlong bike ride to drink some water and Diet Coke.
The two friends acknowledged that the warm breeze they felt while riding was not ideal, but at least it kept the sweat off their faces.
“As soon as I stop, I start dripping,” said Davis, who lives in North Center.
With the NWS extending the excessive heat warning for the Chicago area through Friday at 10 p.m., the Chicago Office of Emergency Management Services today warned people to take the warning seriously, to avoid heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
“Today’s heat warning is a serious matter and should be treated as a priority to avoid a heat related emergency,” said Gary W. Schenkel, OEMC Executive Director.
City officials urge Chicagoans to check on their neighbors, particularly the elderly and people with chronic illnesses.
Chicagoans can call 311 to obtain the location of cooling centers, request well-being checks and request rides to cooling centers. Also, please call 311 to report any open fire hydrants.
Residents also should monitor pets, ensure they are hydrated, cool, and out of the sun, the city said.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has declared today and Thursday Air Pollution Action Days, when widespread ozone and/or particulate levels are expected to be at or above the unhealthy level for sensitive groups.Relief might finally arrive this weekend, when a cold front could send temperatures back down to the mid-80s for the early part of next week.
Isolated thunderstorms also may pass through the Chicago area late Wednesday, but no lasting rain is expected, officials said.
Back at Ribfest, Ewa Brown of Naperville chose to remain upbeat about the heat as she, her daughter and her grandson enjoyed the festival.
“This is summer,” she said. “We have to suffer a little.”
Tribune reporter Vikki Ortiz Healy contributed.
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