Currently in Chicago — June 29, 2023: Some strong storms possible.

The weather, currently.

Takeaways for Chicago's weather:

1. Smoke To Diminish

2. Turning Up Heat & Humidity

3. More Chances For Rain

Wildfire smoke should diminish for Thursday as our attention turns to the possibility of some strong scattered showers and thunderstorms mainly later in the day. Highs will hit the upper 80s under partly cloudy skies with more humidity in the air but less smoke. Cooler Friday with a high near 80 and mostly cloudy skies with a few scattered showers and thunderstorms possible but dry hours too. More scattered showers and thunderstorms early and late Saturday with mostly cloudy skies. Highs hit the lower 80s both Saturday and Sunday. More sun Sunday but at least a small chance for a scattered shower or thunderstorm. Hotter by the 4th with more details in tomorrow’s update.

— Tim McGill

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What you can do, currently.

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What you need to know, currently.

Astonishingly record-setting Atlantic Ocean temperatures have helped trigger a record-breaking melting of the Greenland ice sheet surface this week, new data show.

This week’s melt covered more than 50% of the Greenland ice sheet, only the third time that has ever happened since modern records have been kept, and the earliest-ever in the melt season. Above-freezing temperatures were recorded all the way to the top of the enormous ice sheet, more than 10,000 ft (3,300 m) above sea level. Temperatures reached 73°F (23°C) in far northern Greenland due to downsloping dry winds.

The Greenland melt was “certainly an extreme melt event highlighting the climate emergency,” according to Joel Gombiner, a polar scientist at the University of Washington. “The Greenland ice sheet completely melted last time CO2 was this high. The only question is how fast it disappears this time.”

Greenland is warmer now than at any time over at least the past 1,000 years. The melting of the Greenland ice sheet is directly linked to climate change caused by burning fossil fuels, and an acceleration of its melt is one of the tipping points expected if global warming exceeds the 1.5°C target agreed to in the Paris Climate Accord.

—Eric Holthaus