Weekend storms potentially will rain on parades, give small reprieve for July 4th weekend amid heat wave

Storms set to hit Chicago over the holiday weekend could bring a reprieve from brutal heat that has scorched the city for days, according to the National Weather Service.

It’ll mark the beginning of the end of the oppressive heat wave that has descended on the city — as Friday’s high of 92 drops to 85 Saturday, 84 Sunday and 82 Monday.

The oppressive temperatures contributed to the death of a 69-year-old Evanston man Wednesday, who died of cardiovascular disease and heat stress, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

Thursday’s temperatures fell just shy of 94 degrees at both O’Hare and Midway Airports, though Midway’s heat index reached 101 while O’Hare’s lingered at 99 by late afternoon, according to the weather service.

Showers and thunderstorms were likely in the city after 3 p.m. Friday, set to produce “locally damaging winds” up to 60 mph as well as heavy rain, according to the weather service. With it comes the potential for heat indexes up to 100 degrees within the city just an hour before the storms hit.

Saturday is also set for a 60% chance of rain with the potential for showers and thunderstorms in multiple waves from before 10 a.m. through 1 p.m.

Heat indexes reached 105 Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the weather service. Temperatures soared to 95 Wednesday — still 8 degrees shy of the day’s record set in 1956, but 11 degrees above average.

Garfield Community Service Center, 10 S. Kedzie Ave., will be open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, according to the mayor's office, after extending its cooling hours through 8 p.m. Thursday.

Officials said Garfield will open for cooling over the weekend as well if the heat persists, but didn't immediately respond to a request for confirmation.