Temperatures reached 80 degrees even before noon Monday. But Lexi Dickison was out with her twin daughters at Switchyard Park in Bloomington.
“We’re hanging out at the splash pad, hanging out with the girls, trying to cool down from the summer heat,” she said, wiping sweat from her face and checking in with her daughters, who were running and jumping in the water.
“So, we come here like every day when it’s like in the 90s in the morning, but we don’t really come in the afternoon because it’s so hot,” she said. “We try to come as early as possible and then stay inside for the rest of the day.”
Parts of central and south-central Indiana, including Monroe County, are under the National Weather Service’s heat advisory. Central Indiana can expect the heat index to reach 103 daily until Tuesday evening.
Extreme heat is hard on people, especially parents of toddlers like Dickison.
“They love being outside. So, it’s actually kind of hard, because they always want to be outside, but I don’t want them to overheat,” she said. “We try to do things like the pool, splash pads to keep them cool and being outside.”
Experts urge people to think about safe places during hot and humid weather. Jennifer L. Embree is the chief wellness officer at Indiana University School of Nursing.
“Make sure you think about staying hydrated and cool. This is really a priority during hot, humid weather,” she said. “Avoid alcohol and caffeine, because those can dehydrate you.”
For children, splash pads at the parks might be helpful to keep them cool. “They have to have adult supervision,” Embree said.
She also highlighted the importance of thinking about people who may need help and may not have cooling resources, including vulnerable people, older adults, children and people with preexisting health conditions.
Most of the U.S. is dealing with a heatwave over most of the East and Midwest.