As the first heat wave of the summer descends upon central New York, public pools in the city of Syracuse will be open for residents to cool off.
Syracuse Parks and Recreation Commissioner Syeisha Byrd said the first pool to open was the city’s biggest, the Upper Onondaga Park Pool. All others have had staggered openings, with two others opening later on.
"Some of it is size of the pool,” Byrd said. “Onondaga is a big pool. So on a hot day we can get more people into Onondaga Pool compared to one of our smaller pools. Sometimes it's the maintenance of the pools. Some of our pools have to be repainted. And so that pushes their start date behind. And it's when staff are ready."
In recent years, there have been lifeguard shortages, restricting some pool usage. But Byrd said that isn't the case this year.
“They started recruiting and certifying early, so offering several different opportunities for people to get ready, to get certified to be lifeguards, she said. “Several trainings has helped bring new lifeguards to us. I think the other great thing is a lot of our past lifeguards have returned. And part of that is the relationships they have with one another.”
Byrd expects crowds coming to the pools to cool off during a heat wave this week that could make the air feel like 105 degrees. The National Weather Service has issued an Extreme Heat Warning for Onondaga and Tompkins counties until 8 p.m. Monday, and a Heat Advisory for all of central and northern New York through Wednesday.
Byrd said there will also be cooling centers in some of the Parks Department buildings, as well as splash pads at other parks. Coping with excessive heat is only one reason Byrd says city pools and programs are important.
“We're in a city, right? It gives children, families an opportunity to cool off. It's an opportunity for communities to come together and build relationships. And it's fitness,” she said.
To see a list of cooling centers across the state, click here
The high heat and humidity expected this week is also causing some school districts to send students home early. The Syracuse City School District will send all students in elementary, middle and PreK-8 schools home early this week. Schools in the East Syracuse-Minoa, North Syracuse, Fayetteville-Manlius, and Hannibal school districts are also sending kids home early Monday and Tuesday due to the heat.
Many school districts are in their last week of classes, and already had some half days scheduled for this week.
