Heat in Illinois, July 15 to 22, 2002

Name: Heat in Illinois, July 15 to 22, 2002
Start: 2002-07-15T08:00
End: 2002-07-22T20:00
Location: Illinois

July 15 to 22, 2002 · NWS LOT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An extended period of hot weather began on July 15th and continued through July 22nd. High temperatures ranged mainly from the upper 80s to middle 90s.

The toll

Deaths: 11
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LOT wrote it up.

An extended period of hot weather began on July 15th and continued through July 22nd. High temperatures ranged mainly from the upper 80s to middle 90s. July 21st was the hottest day when high temperatures reached the middle to upper 90s. Ohare Airport reported their highest temperature of the month, 96 degrees on July 21st. Heat Indices on July 21st reached the 110 to 115 degree range. One day of relief was felt on July 19th, when high temperatures only reached the lower to middle 80s. This prolonged period of heat and humidity resulted in several fatalities across Chicago and Cook county.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 15, 1:35 AM CST, 6 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 15, 1:35 AM CST, 6 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
235 AM CDT MON JUL 15 2002

H5 RIDGE CONTINUES TO BUILD INTO UPPER MIDWEST FOR NEXT FEW DAYS AS SURFACE
FLOW BECOMES SOUTHERLY. RESULT WILL BE WARMER TEMPS AND INCREASED HUMIDITY BOTH
TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. EXPECT TO SEE MAXES INCH UP FROM DAY TO DAY AND REACH
INTO LOWER 90S AS DEWPOINTS PUSH INTO UPPER 60S. NO NEED FOR HEAT PRODUCTS EVEN
WITH LOWERED CHI CRITERIA.

NEXT CHANGE EXPECTED THURSDAY AS WEAK SURFACE FRONT MOVES ACROSS FORECAST AREA
FROM THE NORTH. LOW POP CHANCE FOR PRECIP NOW IN FORECAST APPEARS REASONABLE AS
MOISTURE APPEARS TO BE LIMITED.

.CHI...NONE

SOMREK

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 15, 3:51 AM CST, 4 hours 9 minutes before

ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032>033-039-INZ001>002-010>011-019
-151700-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
600 AM CDT/EST MON JUL 15 2002

FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THE NEXT
THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY OCCUR ON THURSDAY.

Event by event

1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Cook

When: July 15, 8:00 AM CST to July 22, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Cook forecast zone
Deaths: 11 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Heat, Cook	2002-07-16	39	Female	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cook	2002-07-18	58	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cook	2002-07-18	37	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cook	2002-07-19	57	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cook	2002-07-20	55	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cook	2002-07-21	66	Female	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cook	2002-07-22	78	Female	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cook	2002-07-16	60	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cook	2002-07-16	71	Female	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cook	2002-07-16	49	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Cook	2002-07-17	40	Female	Permanent Home	Direct

What these are

Heat: Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, July 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5303355.