Currently in Chicago — July 18, 2023: A terrific Tuesday

Plus, Death Valley sets a new world overnight temperature record

AuthorAuthor

Tim McGill & Eric Holthaus
July 17, 2023

The weather, currently.

Takeaways for Chicago’s weather:

1. Terrific Tuesday & wonderful Wednesday

2. Best chance of rain on Thursday & Sunday

3. Keeping it cooler lakeside by 5 to 10 degrees

Partly to mostly sunny skies on Tuesday as highs hit the lower 80s. More of the same but warmer Wednesday with highs climbing into the upper 80s. Some scattered showers and thunderstorms possible early and late Thursday but some sunshine too with highs in the middle 80s. Mostly sunny for Friday and Saturday with highs in the lower 80s. Seasonably warm Sunday with highs in the middle 80s and a mix of sun and clouds most of the day. Some scattered showers and thunderstorms possible Sunday afternoon.

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.

Shortly after midnight on Monday morning it was still a whopping 120°F (48.9°C) at Death Valley in California — the hottest early morning temperature reading in world history.

Here’s what the raw data looked like:

Even though this may not make global headlines, this feels to me like a major global milestone. Public health studies show that excessively hot overnight temperatures cause high death tolls during major heat waves, especially when overnight temperatures fail to fall below 90°F (32.2°C). The human body requires rest at night to recover, especially when subjected to high stress of record heat. Climate change — specifically the added humidity in the air due to increased evaporation rates — causes overnight temperatures to rise at a faster rate than daytime temperatures, worsening this trend.