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  • Currently in Chicago — July 17, 2023: Quiet start to week then some storms

Currently in Chicago — July 17, 2023: Quiet start to week then some storms

Plus, new all-time heat records in China and Europe.

AuthorAuthor

Tim McGill & Eric Holthaus
July 16, 2023

The weather, currently.

Takeaways for Chicago's weather:

1. Quiet & cooler start to the week

2. Hit or miss thunderstorms

3. No extreme heat in sight

The warmest we get this week is the upper 80s on Thursday. After more than a dozen tornadoes touched down last week we start this week off dry with partly to mostly sunny skies Monday and Tuesday with highs in the upper 70s Monday and lower 80s on Tuesday. Hit or miss thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday with a mix of sun and clouds and highs warming from the middle 80s Wednesday into the upper 80s Thursday. A mix of sun and clouds Friday with highs in the lower 80s. Cooler lakeside all week.

What you can do, currently.

The climate emergency doesn’t take the summer off. In fact — as we’ve been reporting — we’re heading into an El Niño that could challenge historical records and is already supercharging weather and climate impacts around the world.

When people understand the weather they are experiencing is caused by climate change it creates a more compelling call to action to do something about it.

If these emails mean something important to you — and more importantly, if the idea of being part of a community that’s building a weather service for the climate emergency means something important to you — please chip in just $5 a month to continue making this service possible.

Thank you!!

What you need to know, currently.

On Sunday, China recorded its hottest temperature in history as Sanbao in Xinjiang Province hit 52.2°C (126°F) — the hottest temperature ever measured on Earth north of 40° latitude (the same latitude as Philadelphia). Also on Sunday, Death Valley, California hit 128°F (53.3°C) — one of the highest reliable temperatures ever recorded in the world. In Europe, a record-breaking heat wave is on tap this week.

New all-time record temperatures of 49°C (120°F) are expected in Italy this week that could challenge the hottest ever recorded in Europe, just days after a new report showed that last year’s then-record-setting European heatwave killed upwards of 60,000 people.

These records make sense in our rapidly warming world. June 2023 was the hottest month in world history, and July should be even hotter.