Photo: Cornell Johnson is shown here getting darker than coal as he looks at paper he found in a purse on the beach.The National Weather Service is warning that this week's heat wave is shaping up to be the most intense to hit theChicago area since July 1999, with the high today flirting with the record of 101 degrees set 31 years ago.
The heat index today -- what it feels like -- is expected to be between 110 and 115 degrees, comparable to the heat wave that smothered theChicago area at the end of July in 1999.
In the city, which the weather service calls an "urban heat island," the index will remain above 100 degrees late into the evening and probably will not fall below 90 all night, the weather service warns.
Actual temperatures are expected to be near 100 degrees today, both near and away from Lake Michigan, the weather service said. Chicago hasn’t recorded an official 100-degree day since 2005.
The weather service has issued an excessive heat warning from this morning through early Friday morning for the entire Chicago area.
The sustained heat and humidity, combined with a lack of relief at night, will make it difficult for people to stay cool over the next few days, said Bill Nelson, a weather service meteorologist.
The heat wave has public officials on alert, encouraging residents to stay out of the elements, to stay hydrated and to check on the elderly, who are especially at risk.
No weather-related deaths had been reported to the Cook County medical examiner’s office as of this morning. At least 80 deaths were attributed to the July 1999 heat wave. Four years earlier, another July heat wave was blamed for more than 700 deaths in Cook County.
Some residents in the Chicago area remained without power this morning because of overnight storms. About 3,600 ComEd customers initially lost power, but that was down to about 2,100 by 8:30 a.m., according to ComEd.
