Currently in Boston — August 25, 2023: Showers are on their way

The weather, currently.

Clouds have arrived and showers are on their way. When you get up on Friday morning if it's not raining, it eventually will be. Some of the showers could contain heavier downpours and there is the chance for some thunder. When all is said and done anywhere from a half an inch to 2 in of rain are likely for most of the area.

Temperatures will only be near 70 on Friday with the cloud cover. On Saturday more showers are possible but there's also going to be some breaks of sun along with high humidity. Temperatures will be well into the '70s to near 80. On Sunday it's better but still not perfect. Partly sunny skies could yield a brief isolated shower and temperatures will be in the '70s humidity will be at comfortable levels during Sunday morning.

— Dave Epstein

What you need to know, currently.

Houston had its hottest day in history on Thursday, with temperatures climbing as high as 109°F (42.8°C).

Officials in Houston warned that rolling blackouts might be necessary to avoid catastrophic power outages, as demand for air conditioning and electricity was near a record high.

Thursday’s high temperature mark in Houston tied other equally warm days in 2000 and 2011, when Texas emergency rooms filled with patients seeking care from heat related illness and injury. This time around, the city has issued mandatory water restrictions, banning outdoor water use in an attempt to keep up water pressure as reservoir levels fall due to drought.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, Thursday’s high temperature was 100°F — and it felt like 120°F (48.9°C) when you factored in the humidity. That’s the highest heat index in that city’s history. This week’s heat wave in Chicago rivals the one back in July 1995, which was one of the deadliest heat waves in US history.

—Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

The fires in Maui have struck at the heart of Hawaiian heritage, and if you’d like to support survivors, here are good places to start:

The fires burned through the capital town of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the ancestral and present home to native Hawaiians on their original unceded lands. One of the buildings destroyed was the Na ‘Aikane o Maui cultural center, a gathering place for the Hawaiian community to organize and celebrate.

If you’d like to help the community rebuild and restore the cultural center, a fund has been established that is accepting donations — specify “donation for Na ‘Aikane” on this Venmo link.