The cooler weather provides relief to residents after a summer of extreme conditions, including heatwaves that caused 13 heat-related deaths in Cook County. The region also faced record-breaking severe weather, with numerous tornadoes, heavy rainfall, and flooding. These events disrupted major events like the Fourth of July celebrations and Lollapalooza. Additionally, Gary, Indiana, experienced a nearly two-week power outage due to storm damage, and July brought some of the worst air quality globally due to wildfire smoke from Minnesota and Ontario.