Chicago Hits 103 Again, For 3rd Straight Day Of Triple Digit Temps
UPDATED 07/06/12 1:05 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago broke another record for heat on Friday as the temperature reached 103 degrees again, making it the third straight day the mercury has reached triple digits in the city.
The Cook County Medical Examiner confirmed six deaths related to the extreme heat so far.
The 100 degree reading around 12:45 p.m. at O'Hare International Airport broke the record of 99 for July 6. The temperature continued to climb Friday afternoon, reaching 103 by 3 p.m.
Chicago also broke the July 5 record on Thursday when temperatures hit 103. We equaled the record on July 4 at 102.
The only other time Chicago has seen three days of triple digit heat was July 3-5, 1911.
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The humidity was to the point where dew points were in the New Orleans range, in the mid-70s, CBS 2 Meteorologist Ed Curran reported.
With the combined effects of the actual heat and the humidity, the heat indices were downright subtropical -- reaching as high as 108 at O'Hare, 107 at Midway International Airport, and 111 and DeKalb.
The excessive heat warning has been extended, as the cold front that will bring some relative relief this weekend is coming slower than expected. The warning is in effect until 4 p.m. Saturday for most areas, and 7 p.m. in the southern suburbs.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency has declared another air pollution action day, and is advising everyone to limit strenuous outdoor activities.
On Thursday, summer classes were canceled at 21 Chicago Public Schools without air conditioning. But on Friday, classes are called off altogether at the city's public schools because of the heat.
CPS says it is in the best interests of the students and faculty to cancel school on Friday. All CPS-operated sports camps are also canceled.
And the Chicago Housing Authority is continuing well-being checks, making sure the elderly are holding up.
Once Friday is over, the heat wave will have driven temperatures over 100 for three straight days.
Meanwhile, a senior citizens' apartment complex on the city's Near West Side has been suffering through the heat without air conditioning ever since the present heat wave began. CBS 2 has made several calls to the management of the building at 1401 W. Roosevelt Rd. in the Roosevelt Square mixed-income development, but has received no response.
The lack of air conditioning is a huge concern, and residents are irritated. One resident, Eunice Shipp, took CBS 2's Mike Parker on the elevator to her apartment, where fans are just circulating hot air.
The thermometer in Shipp's apartment showed a temperature of 91 degrees.
"Right now, I think I have a hangover -- a heat hangover," Shipp said Thursday.
The air conditioning at the building has been broken since Sunday. A broken sensor is being blamed.
The building is owned by East Lake Management and Development Company. In a letter they sent to Shipp on Monday, they said they hoped the air conditioning unit would be repaired in a few hours. But it was not.
Also Thursday, Chicago's Central District police station, 1718 S. State St., was no place to go to cool off. The air conditioning system was on the blink except for the lockup.
Fans were blowing constantly. After getting a safety complaint from the police union, the police department said.
"We have been working closely with fleet and facility management to address the lack of air conditioning," the department said.
City officials are urging everyone to take a few minutes out of your day to check on the most vulnerable.
"During these dangerously high temperatures, we urge Chicagoans to check on their neighbors, particularly the elderly and disabled, who may be more vulnerable to these heat conditions," said Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications executive director Gary Schenkel.
The OEMC advises anyone without air conditioning to call 311 for directions or even transportation to a cooling center.
And while relief will be slower to arrive than expected, it will still be coming. The high for Saturday drops to 95 as the cold front passes through with a chance of storms, followed by a comfortable high of 82 on Sunday, 81 on Monday, 83 on Tuesday, 85 on Wednesday, and 84 on Thursday.
