Chicago preps for 105-degree ‘feels-like’ temps as heat wave looms

Chicago authorities are opening cooling centers and pointing residents toward libraries, safety checks and even park splash pads ahead of a heat wave that’s expected to bring record temperatures to the city.

Heat indexes are expected to top 105 degrees for two consecutive days on Tuesday and Wednesday, a bench mark that triggered a National Weather Service heat advisory.

“The City of Chicago’s cooling areas located at the City’s six community service centers will be activated,” the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications said in a statement. The city will require masks inside the centers. They will operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The heat index is projected to be at 104 degrees at 5 p.m. and stay above 100 degrees until nearly 8 p.m. Tuesday.

“I’m not sure where folks that are trying to stay cool are supposed to go at that point,” said Doug Schenkelberg, executive director of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

Chicagoans in need of cool refuge can also find it in park field houses and libraries, the OCEM statement noted. Those air-conditioned public spaces are expected to be operating as normal.

Folks who cool down in the library will find computers, programming and — of course — books, said Patrick Molloy, Chicago Public Library’s government and public affairs director.

“Most importantly, we’ll have cool air for everybody,” Molloy said. The city’s four main libraries are open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Smaller branch library hours vary.

The Chicago Park District’s offerings include cooling centers at 34 field houses. The parks have also activated 176 “water spray features,” spokeswoman Michele Lemons said.

The hot weather could set local records. Tuesday’s projected high of 98 degrees is just shy of the 99-degree record high for June 14, and Wednesday’s high of 97 degrees edges June 15′s historic high mark: 95 degrees set in 1994.

But it will feel even hotter. High levels of humidity will make the heat index — how the heat is felt by the body — warmer, elevating the index to around 105 degrees, National Weather Service hydrologist Scott Lincoln said.

“Ninety degrees in and of itself, although it’s warm, will certainly feel a lot worse,” he said.

The city is encouraging residents to check in on neighbors and family, avoid leaving pets and people in the car, and watch out for signs of heat-related illness.

A May heat wave led to the deaths of three Chicago women in a Rogers Park senior housing facility. Residents had begged the property managers for days to turn off the heat and turn on the air conditioning amid record-breaking temperatures, residents and family members said.

A resolution calling for a hearing on the deaths and the dangers extreme heat poses passed Monday in the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate. Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, who sponsored the resolution, said she’s been calling seniors and senior buildings in her wards to make sure people are ready for this week’s heat wave.

“The city’s actually really proactive about heat,” she said.

Hadden is attempting to pass legislation that would add cooling requirements for senior buildings and buildings with 100 units or more and establish guidance for buildings that use two-pipe systems for heating and cooling. Building managers and owners need to listen to their owners too, Hadden said.

“We can do all the clarifying and amending ordinances, but if we don’t have more thoughtful decision-making centered on the safety and health of residents, it’s not going to make any difference,” she said.

More permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness could help protect vulnerable people from heat waves and other dangerous weather, Schenkelberg said.