SAN ANTONIO – We haven’t even made it to Memorial Day, but San Antonio is already feeling the heat of summer.
“As you can see, I’m drenched,” Aly Sanchez said as she cooled off at a city splash pad.
This weekend, temperatures are forecasted to range between 94 and 100 degrees, but when you factor in humidity, the heat index could reach 110.
“San Antonio does have a lot of areas for them as far as outdoor stuff like this being one, and there are other parks that have splash pads, so it’s just like trying to be creative because there is only so much you can do at home,” Samantha Bravo, a mom keeping her daughter cool at the splash pad, said.
Keeping cool doesn’t have to cost money. The City of San Antonio offers several places to cool off for free, including splash pads, swimming pools, public libraries, community centers, and senior centers.
“It doesn’t have to be a city-owned facility; go to a shopping center, go to a mall, go to a movie, do those things to get out of the heat if you can,” Joe Arrington, an SAFD and Emergency Management public information officer, said
Arrington said if the extended forecast calls for several days of temperatures over 100 degrees, the city will implement a heat plan, but the response depends on the situation.
“Right now, and it could change, what is it looking like for the next few days and the weekend?” KSAT’s John Paul Barajas asked.
“We’ll look at it as it gets closer and say, ‘hey, we need to extend those hours;’ do we need to open somewhere that might normally be closed on a holiday,” answered Arrington
City officials plan to meet tomorrow to assess the situation. On Memorial Day, the Westfall, Henry Guerra, and Igo libraries will be open from 12 to 8 p.m.
For information on heat safety tips, click here.
A map of places to stay cool can be found here.