Will the heat dome coming next week see Chicago with at least 5 days in a row of 90+ degrees?
79% of users predicted YES — the community got this one right. 42 predictions cast.
A ridge of high pressure — a heat dome — anchored over the central United States in the days leading into the July Fourth weekend, trapping a hot air mass beneath it and suppressing the convective mixing that would otherwise let heat dissipate. The pattern intensified through late June, prompting a National Weather Service warning on June 28, and eventually affected an estimated 200 to 260 million people from the Plains through the Midwest and East Coast, according to AccuWeather and UPI.
Chicago sat within the corridor of most persistent heat. AccuWeather's pre-holiday forecast projected the city would see at least five consecutive days with highs at or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with heat index values near 110 degrees amid high humidity. High temperatures ran in the mid-to-upper 90s from roughly June 29 through July 3; National Weather Service climate records show an observed high of 95 degrees at O'Hare on July 2.
The heat dome played out largely as forecast: Chicago recorded five or more consecutive days of 90-degree-plus highs before thunderstorms began weakening the ridge over the holiday weekend. The prediction-market community anticipated this outcome, voting 79 percent Yes across 42 votes.