Temperatures To Approach 100 Degrees Friday
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The last time the official temperature exceeded 100 degrees was six years ago, but on Friday, it might happen again.
CBS 2 Meteorologist Megan Glaros says the weather Thursday will be comfortable and beautiful as it has been for the last several days, with highs in the mid-80s. But on Friday, a warm front sweeps in, jacking up the temperatures to a high of 97 degrees.
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But heat indices will make it feel as if it were 100 to 105 degrees, and in some areas, the actual air temperature might exceed 100 degrees.
Conditions will also be humid and sticky, and Chicagoans are advised to find a nice place to cool down.
While it may not seem like it, 100-degree temperatures are exceedingly rare in Chicago. The National Weather Service says they have accounted for less than 0.2 percent of all the days in the past 31 years. But weather models suggest that in some areas, Friday may be one of those days.
Glaros says the last time the temperature in Chicago topped 100 degrees was in 2005. The record for July 1 is 103, set in 1956.
And we all remember the dangers 100-degree temperatures can bring from a horrific heat wave a decade before that. The heat wave in July 1995 brought record-setting temperatures of 106 degrees, and was blamed for 739 deaths.
City officials open cooling centers on days of extreme heat, and advise anyone to check on their neighbors, particularly the elderly.
The good news for the sweltering heat coming Friday is that it will only last one day. A cold front comes in on Saturday, cutting temperatures back down to the low 90s or even upper 80s.
But the overnight low for Friday night is 75 degrees, so if you're planning on an early-morning run on Saturday, it might be best to do it on the track at the gym rather than outside.
