By rssfeeds-admin 
Temperatures continue to creep up in Chicagoland this week, with Wednesday highs in the mid- to upper 80s.
With winds shifting from southeast to south and then southwest, the heat and humidity will continue to climb, as we see temps back in the low 90s for the end of this week, though not quite as humid and oppressive as other heat waves this summer (see more below).
Wednesday also begins with a fair amount of sunshine for the first two-thirds of the day, but some cloud coverage filters the sunshine later in the afternoon and evening.
Meanwhile, smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to hang over the area, with an Air Quality Alert in effect for most of Chicagoland until midnight Wednesday night.
Weather systems moving in from the west should then circulate some of that smoky air out of our area.
Here’s the latest from the Illinois EPA:
⚠️ AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT WEDNESDAY NIGHT ⚠️
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has issued an Air Pollution Action Day for Wednesday, Aug. 6, for the greater Chicago metropolitan area through midnight Wednesday night.
A Chicago area “Air Pollution Action Day” is declared when weather conditions are such that widespread ozone and/or particulate levels are expected to be at or above the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) category of the Air Quality Index (AQI) for multiple days.
Ozone is expected to be the primary pollutant of concern, but wildfire smoke also is lingering in the region and may impact PM2.5 and Ozone AQI.
Active children and adults, especially people with pulmonary or respiratory disease such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor activity.
Wednesday: High temps/winds
Daytime highs continue to warm over the previous day for the fifth consecutive day.
Highs will surge well into the 80s inland, but slightly cooler conditions on area beaches and along the immediate lakeshore continue as light southeast winds slice off the lake.
Lake Michigan water temps and beach forecast
Lake Michigan water temperatures continue to be in the mid-70s, near summer’s peak.
Light southeast winds will create a modest chop on the lake Wednesday and shouldn’t have much impact for area boaters and swimmers, with only 1- to 2-foot waves currently forecasted.
Wednesday sunburn forecast
Current Conditions
Next Few Hours
Extended Outlook
The extended outlook calls for Chicagoland staying close to 90 for the next several days, with each day seeing at least a slight chance of showers or storms. The peak heat looks to be Saturday, at 93.
The best chances for some much-needed rainfall are few stray showers late Wednesday, then late afternoon and evening on Sunday and Monday.
August 2025 is about to change its cooler-than-normal character, as late-season heat takes hold across the area. Highs are forecast to reach about 90 degrees from Friday through Monday, with slight cooling into the upper 80s possible on Sunday.
Forecast highs: Friday
Forecast highs: Saturday
Forecast highs: Sunday
Forecast highs: Monday
Forecast Friday temperature departure from normal
Forecast Saturday temperature departure from normal
Forecast Sunday temperature departure from normal
Forecast Monday temperature departure from normal
Forecast average max temperature departure from normal: Aug. 8-12
Forecast Chicago highs and how much above normal
A string of above-normal days are on tap as we move forward the rest of the week and into next week.
Chicago humidity forecast
Humidity will slowly return in the coming days, but there will be no repeat of the oppressive levels observed at times last month.
Forecast 2m temperature anomaly animation
Blue areas indicate cooler-than-normal temperatures, while the orange and red areas indicate warmer-than-normal temperatures. You can see by this animation how we’re headed toward a much warmer weather pattern in the days ahead.
Tropical update
Dexter is going out to sea and is continuing to weaken, posing no threat to land, but a couple other areas of disturbed weather are being monitored by the National Hurricane Center for potential development.
Climate and Environment news: WGN Weather Center blog
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