Dust Bowl Peaks: 109F Heat Wave Scorches Chicago
The heat wave that peaked on July 24, 1935, pushed temperatures past 109 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of the Midwest while a separate drought was stripping topsoil from farms across the Great Plains. In Chicago, hundreds died from heat exhaustion over a single week. Lake Michigan's temperature rose so high that fish died in large numbers near the shore. The combination of heat, drought, and dust storms confirmed the Dust Bowl as a national catastrophe rather than a regional agricultural problem. Roughly 2.5 million people abandoned the Plains states during the 1930s, the largest migration in American history, with many heading to California only to find hostility rather than opportunity.
July 24, 1935
91 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on July 24
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