Cool in the pool
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Mijerean Witcher, 6, gives a friend a ride through the baby pool at Washington Park Pool, where he spent Wednesday afternoon with his friends and mom Mina Haley. Witcher, of Washington, also had a blast shooting hoops in the big pool with some pals.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Ma’Riyah Lee, Zaniya Richardson, Jah’Nijah Gaston and Carter Roilton, all of Washington, cool off in the Washington Park baby pool with Theodore Everett, 7 months, Wednesday afternoon. The teens enjoyed beating the heat and chatting in the clear blue water.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Dylan Burrows, 9, of Washington, plunges into the Washington Park Pool earlier this week.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Cambree Rice, 4, kick-kick-kicks in the big pool at Washington Park Pool, where her mother, Erin Rice, is teaching her how to swim. The family, of Bentleyville, enjoys spending at least one day a week cooling off and splashing about at the pool.
Folks are riding out the heat wave in area pools, which have been packed since record-breaking temperatures from the Southwest entered the region earlier this week. People crowded into the Washington Park Pool Wednesday, the first nearly 90-degree day in a string of blazing hot days, and lifeguards took extra heat breaks throughout the afternoon so they and swimmers could seek shade and rehydrate. Because it was so busy, the pool also hosted a diving contest for patrons. Temperatures again soared into the high 80s Thursday, and the National Weather Service Pittsburgh issued a heat advisory for Washington, Greene and Fayette counties for Friday, when the heat index is expected to hit 104 degrees. While cooling off in clear blue waters is one of the most refreshing ways to spend a hot, humid day, people should remember to seek shade and stay hydrated.