First extreme heat wave of 2025 headed to Chicago: What to know for the weekend
Beginning Saturday, Chicagoans can expect intense heat compounded by muggy humidity for the next several days. The National Weather Service has declared an extreme heat warning in Cook County from 10 a.m. Saturday through midnight Monday.
Daytime temperatures may reach 97 degrees on Saturday, with a peak afternoon heat index of 106, according to the National Weather Service.
At night, temperatures will probably 'struggle' to drop below 80 degrees, said Brett Borchardt, a senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service. That makes this first heat wave of the year particularly dangerous.
'So we have a prolonged period of time where we're not able to cool off, and the effects of heat accumulate,' Borchardt said. 'That's when we start to see those heat-related illnesses crop up.'
Through Sunday and Monday, daytime temperatures may continue to hit the mid- to high-90s, and the heat index is forecast to reach 100 to 105 degrees. The National Weather Service may extend its heat warning through Tuesday if conditions persist, Borchardt said during a Friday morning news conference at the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
High humidity is also contributing to this weekend's heat warning. The combination of extreme heat and humidity can have dangerous health consequences such as nausea, confusion and passing out. The heat can also turn deadly, city officials stressed.
Mayor Brandon Johnson urged Chicagoans to take the warning seriously, adding that officials have learned grave lessons from the past.
'We are one month away from the 30-year anniversary of the 1995 heat wave, the deadliest heat wave in American history,' Johnson said. 'We lost more than 700 Chicagoans. Most of them were the elderly and poor. … It really challenged the city to recognize the danger of extreme heat.'
Over the last three years, the city recorded 485 heat-related deaths and more than 700 heat-related emergency room visits in Chicago, Public Health Commissioner Olusimbo Ige said. People who are already sick and people older than 65 are the most vulnerable, she added.
Certain regions of the city may also be more susceptible to extreme heat because of the urban heat island effect — when factors, including building materials and tree canopy cover, cause the environment to trap more heat. Public health data shows the 60620, 60623, 60628 and 60651 ZIP codes historically see more heat-related emergencies than other locations, Ige said.
Residents should stay inside with air conditioning if possible, officials said. According to Ige, 89% of the city's population live in air conditioned buildings.
Almost 180 city facilities serve as cooling centers during heat waves, including public libraries, Department of Family and Support Services and Park District buildings. There are an additional 110 spray features at city parks.
However, most cooling centers have limited hours that don't extend throughout the evening. According to city data, 33 cooling centers aren't open during the weekend and 26 are not open Sundays.
Only 3% of Chicagoans went to a cooling center in 2024, Ige said.
Other ways to stay safe during the heat wave include drinking lots of water, wearing light clothing, keeping ovens and stoves shut off and cooling off with a cold bath or ice packs, officials said.
The city plans to send teams out to do well-being checks on older and homeless people throughout the weekend, said Maura McCauley, acting commissioner of the Department of Family and Support Services. And for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the city is opening all its pools again seven days a week. Outdoor pools open Saturday, and can help residents beat the heat, Park District chief of staff Michael Merchant said.
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