Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena
Time Path Path Number of Estimated July 1995
Local/ Length Width Persons Damage
Location Date Standard (Miles) (Yards) Killed Injured Property Crops Character of Storm
57
Winnebago County
Rockford 04 2245CST ? ? 50K 0 Thunderstorm Winds (G70)
A wind gust to 81 mph was recorded at the Rockford Airport. One small plane was blown loose and into the grass and another
was flipped over. A 727 was spun 90 degrees by the wind.
ILZ003>006-008-
010>014-019>023-
032-033-039
Northeast Illinois 12 1100CST-
16 1700CST 583 ? ? 0 Heat
An intense heat wave affected northern Illinois from Wednesday July 12 through Sunday July 16. The heat wave tied or broke
several temperature records at Rockford and Chicago. But what set this heat wave apart from others was the extremely high
humidities. Dew point temperatures peaked in the lower 80s late Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th and were generally
in the middle and upper 70s through the rest of the hot spell. The combined and cumulative effects of several days of high
temperatures, high humidity, intense July sunshine (100% possible sunshine recorded at O'Hare Airport in Chicago July 13) and
light winds took their toll. 583 people died as a result of the heat in Chicago and surrounding areas. Official temperatures at
Chicago's O'Hare International Airport were 7/12; minimum 73 maximum 97 (tied record), 7/13 minimum 81 (record) maximum
104 (record), 7/14 minimum 83 (record), maximum 100 (tied record), 7/15 minimum 75, maximum 98, 7/16 minimum 74,
maximum 93. The heat peaked on Thursday July 13. O'Hare had a high of 104 and a low of 81 for an average of 93, 20 degrees
above normal. (The all-time record high for Chicago is 105.) The heat index peaked at 119 at 1300 and 1700. At Midway Airport
the temperature hit 106. (Midway is not the official Chicago reporting station so the 106 did not become Chicago's official highest
temperature.) The heat index at Midway reached 125 at 1400 when the temperature was 103 and the dew point was 79. What
was really remarkable was that Meigs Field which sits on a small peninsula over the cool waters of Lake Michigan off the
Chicago lakefront reached 103 degrees with a heat index of 115. Rockford had high temperatures of 97, 98, 97 and 94 on the
12 through 15th, respectively. The minimum of 75 on the 14th was a record. The heat index peaked at 125 at 1800 pm on the
13th when the temperature was 98 with a dew point of 83!
Commonwealth Edison, which provides much of northern Illinois and virtually all of the Chicago metropolitan area with power,
had record demands for electricity on the 12th through the 14th. Power output was 18,234, 19,151 and 19,201 megawatts,
respectively. Transformers blew in the southwest suburbs near Joliet causing rolling power outages on the 13th and 14th. The
north side of Chicago also lost power as did the northwest suburb of Cary. Draw bridges over the Chicago River had to be hosed
down so they would operate and close properly. Several roads buckled from the heat. As many as 500 fire hydrants were opened
in Chicago causing loss of water pressure. The city of Chicago used a record 1.8 billion gallons of water on the 13th. The city's
water system has a capacity to pump 2 billion gallons a day.
There were over 580 fatalities attributed to the heat. Most of them occurred in the city of Chicago. Most of the deaths occurred
two to three days following the peak of the heat wave. Many were elderly people living alone in homes or apartments with no
air conditioning. Some had nailed windows shut and were afraid to go out because of crime in their neighborhoods. Emergency
officials found people in homes with room temperatures of 120 degrees or higher. Here is a break down of fatalities by county;
Lake County, 1 (Ingleside), Grundy County, 1 (Morris), Kane County, 7 (all in Aurora), Winnebago County, 5 (all in Rockford),
Will County, 1 (Joliet), Cook, 568. The information from Cook County was provided by the Cook County Medical Examiners
Office. 64 of the deaths occurred in suburban Cook County. 504 occurred in Chicago. The dates of the deaths are not known in
all cases. Many of the examinations occurred in the days following the heat wave, more occurred later as funeral home and
hospital records were checked. Heat was the primary cause of death in 75 of the cases and a secondary cause in the rest of the
deaths. Information on morbidity is being compiled by the Cook County Department of Health. An estimate on number of injuries
will be available later this year as an addition.
F78PH, F87PH, M43OU, F38PH, M56PH, M67PH, M68PH, M84PH, M81PH, F91PH, M58PH, M60PH, M42PH, M73PH,
M57PH, M32PH, M86PH, M75PH, F64PH, M88PH, F70PH, M69PH, M86PH, F72PH, M76PH, F83PH, M74PH, F68PH,
M68PH, F83PH, M86PH, F87PH, M58PH, M38PH, F74PH, M55PH, M57PH, F85PH, M03VE, M03VE, F77PH, M78PH,
F87PH, M60PH, F41PH, F80PH, F75PH, M65PH, F46PH, F89PH, M64PH, F79PH, M59PH, M88PH, M47PH, F95PH,
M81PH, F97PH, M85PH, F103PH, M86PH, F57PH, F29PH, F90PH, F87PH, F80PH, M60PH, M82PH, M75PH, F72PH,
M40PH, M89PH, M45PH, F52PH, M80PH, M60PH, M??PH, M51PH, M58PH, M45PH, F91PH, M61PH, M41PH, M65PH,
F91PH, M39PH, M56PH, F65PH, F94PH, F87PH, F91PH, M81PH, M45PH, M82PH, F42PH, M65PH, F80PH, M60PH,
M74PH, M63PH, M84PH, F84PH, M80PH, M86PH, M59PH, F83PH, F79PH, M67PH, F71PH, F??PH, M87PH, F87PH,
F84PH, F78PH, F90PH, F41PH, F79PH, F83PH, M73PH, M75PH, M77PH, F66PH, M80PH, M87PH, M53PH, F29PH,
ILLINOIS, Northeast Cont'd
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M53PH, F89PH, M80PH, M77PH, M56PH, F55PH, F93PH, M71PH, F74PH, F42PH, M81PH, F77PH, F75PH, F81PH,
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M65PH, M47PH, M47PH, F69PH, M64PH, F86PH, M57PH, M74PH, M55PH, F78PH, M85PH, M51PH, M71PH, F72PH,
F85PH, M60PH, M72PH, F92PH, F49PH, M46PH, F85PH, M64PH, F69PH, M87PH, F89PH, M70PH, F69PH, M67PH,
M40PH, M86PH, F86PH, F84PH, M54PH, M78PH, F81PH, M48PH, M54PH, F80PH, M64PH, M79PH, M60PH, M80PH,
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M57PH, M55PH, F81PH, M55PH, M86PH, M47PH, M48PH, F82PH, F62PH, M53PH, M69PH, M65PH, M65PH, M77PH,
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M53PH, M67PH, F61PH, M48PH, M75PH, M70PH, M88PH, F66PH, M70PH, F81PH, F73PH, M70PH, M74PH, F85PH,
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M65PH, F63PH, M70PH, M75PH, M85PH, M86PH, M58PH, F78PH, F79PH, M75PH, M69PH, F96PH, M68PH, M88PH,
F78PH, M71PH, M62PH, M65PH, M60PH, M71PH, F31PH, F78PH, M81PH, M83PH, F90PH, M40PH, F72PH, M68PH,
F60PH, M52PH, M65PH, M75PH, F77PH, F60PH, M48PH, F82PH, F72PH, F54PH, F75PH, M92PH, F82PH, M70PH,
M60PH, F79PH, M80PH, F92PH, M91PH, F86PH, F67PH, F63PH, F78PH, M35PH, M46PH, M79PH, F66PH, M75PH,
M72PH, M72PH, F80PH, M75PH, F78PH, M75PH, F80PH, M50PH, F84PH, F72PH, F82PH, M63PH, F73PH, M55PH,
M85PH, F73PH, F91PH, F93PH, M63PH, M69PH, F83PH, F68PH, M71PH, F92PH, M88PH, M61PH, M69PH, M75PH,