Two popular Chicago beaches were closed on one of the hottest days of the year because of low visibility Tuesday, but one has been reopened.North Avenue and Oak Street beaches were closed early Tuesday afternoon, with no one allowed in the water due to poor visibility, according to police News Affairs. North Avenue beach was reopened to swimmers about 45 minutes later, though Oak Street beach remained close as of 1:10 p.m.
Fog has been restricting visibility along the lakefront, though the temperature was near 90 degrees. The low visibility was making it hard for lifeguards to watch swimmers in the water, so the beaches were closed to swimming, according to police.
According to the Chicago Park District, the water temperature of Lake Michigan was 72 degrees Tuesday.
The National Weather Service has issued a dense fog advisory for the Chicago area until 4 p.m.
The weather service expects the dense fog to last through mid-afternoon, with visibility of a quarter-mile or less expected for areas along the shore. Visibility expecetd to be much better away from the lake.
Additionally, an excessive heat watch remains in effect through Thursday night. High temperatures in the midddle to perhaps upper 90s will combine with oppressive humidity values to result in dangerous high heat indices of 105 to 110 degrees both Wednesday and Thursday afternoon.
