CHICAGO (AP) — As a second straight day of hot soupy temperatures approaching triple digits hung over much of the Midwest on Tuesday, residents looked for ways to stay cool and indoors. Darrell Taylor, 61, has no air-conditioning in his apartment on Chicago’s West Side, where it was expected to reach 95 degrees Fahrenheit. He described it as feeling like an oven.
Running two fans did not improve things. “I put a cold towel on my face. It’s only working a little bit,” he said before retreating to the house of a relative who has air conditioning.
The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings and advisories Tuesday in large swaths of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and into Mid-Atlantic states including Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The weather service warned of “dangerously hot conditions” and predicted heat index values — which take into account the temperature and relative humidity and indicate how hot it feels outdoors — of up to 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit in some locations, including Chicago. But relief was expected soon, with cooler temperatures expected starting Wednesday.
“The heat still persists across the middle part of the country but there is some much cooler air working in by the end of the month,” Josh Weiss, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. Many cities, including Chicago, opened cooling centers. Some schools planned early dismissal because of the heat.
An Indiana zoo cut its hours .
