Chicago's Current Heat Wave Has Now Broken Records 2 Days In A Row
By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 21, 2017 7:22PM
Chicago set a new record high for this date when temperatures hit 93 degrees early this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service-Chicago. It was the second consecutive day of record-breaking heat.
The previous record high for Sept. 21 was 92 degrees, which was set nearly 50 years ago, in 1970.
#Chicago-O'Hare reached 93°, setting new record high for 9/21! Previous record of 92° set in 1970. Now 2 consecutive record highs set. #ilwx
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) September 21, 2017
It's been such a scorcher that Chicago had already reached its normal high temperature for this date by 7 a.m., according to NWS-C.
The temperature climbed even higher, to 94 degrees, around 2 p.m.
Temperatures reached 92 degrees on Wednesday, which was also a record high for that day.
Such a strong heat wave in Chicago this late beyond summer is very rare, according to Ricky Castro, a meteorologist at NWS-C. Only two dates after Sept. 20 on record have ever reached higher than 90 degrees in Chicago: Sept. 29, 1953 (99 degrees) and Oct. 6, 1963 (94 degrees), Castro told Chicagoist.
No other area in the country on Weather.com's national map showed a higher temperature than Chicago, though Castro said there were parts of the country that had registered hotter than Chicago.
Weather.com
Chicago is expected to see 90-degree temperatures again on Friday, and possibly Saturday as well.