Currently in Chicago — August 1, 2024: Ring of Fire storms on the way

The weather, currently.

With a large mass of hot and moist air – another heat dome, though not as severe as what we saw earlier this summer – you’ll see more action at the edges, a phenomenon known as the Ring of Fire. That action is thunderstorms, and Chicago is sitting right where they will be moving through on Friday.

Expect scattered showers for the next 48 hours, with a high near 85. Going to Lolla? You know the drill: apply sunscreen, drink water, and listen for storm alerts.

— Katje Sabin

What you can do, currently.

A Media Matters analysis found that last year — the hottest calendar year on record — network coverage of climate actually declined in the US. What’s worse, just 12% of reports about climate change mentioned fossil fuels as the driving cause. The media still reported on extreme weather, but stopped short of making the climate connection.

Independent climate journalism like Currently is needed more than ever. And this year, with all of these weather warnings already underway, we’ll unfortunately have plenty of opportunities to do better.