Savannah residents will have access to free cooling centers, pools, and splash pads this Saturday as heat index values could reach a dangerous 110 degrees.
🌡️ Why It Matters: Extreme heat can be deadly, especially for vulnerable populations like the elderly, children, and those without access to air conditioning. These cooling options provide critical relief during what could be one of the hottest days of the year.
What is the Heat Index?: The heat index refers to what the temperature feels like when the air temperature is combined with relative humidity. The thermometer in your car may report 90 degree temperatures, but the humidity means that to your body, it will feel like it is over 100 degrees. The heat index is sometimes called the “apparent temperature.”
🏊 Where To Cool Off: The city is opening multiple facilities with air conditioning and water features:
- Community centers: Tompkins and W.W. Law Regional Centers (12 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
- Four city pools: Bowles C. Ford, Daffin, W.W. Law, and Tompkins (1:30-3:30 p.m. & 4:30-6 p.m.)
- Ten splash pads across the city, including Forsyth Park and Hudson Hill (9 a.m. to 8 p.m.)
🏠 For Those Experiencing Homelessness: Three locations will provide cooling relief:
- Union Mission (8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
- Come As You Are (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
- Salvation Army (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
🐴 Safety Measures: The city will enforce its equine heat safety ordinance, prohibiting horse-drawn carriages from operating when the heat index exceeds 110 degrees or when temperatures reach 95 degrees.
⚠️ Health Precautions: Officials advise residents to:
- Drink plenty of fluids
- Stay in air-conditioned spaces
- Avoid direct sun exposure
- Check on vulnerable neighbors and relatives
- Never leave children or pets in vehicles
The Sources: City of Savannah, National Weather Service
How to Read and Understand the News
Truth doesn’t bend because we dislike it.
Facts don’t vanish when they make us uncomfortable.
Events happen whether we accept them or not.
Good reporting challenges us. The press isn’t choosing sides — it’s relaying what official, verified sources say. Blaming reporters for bad news is like blaming a thermometer for a fever.
Americans have a history of misunderstanding simple things. In the 1980s, A&W rolled out a 1/3-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. It failed because too many people thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If we can botch basic math, we can certainly misread the news.
Before dismissing a story, ask yourself:
- What evidence backs this?
- Am I reacting to facts or feelings?
- What would change my mind?
- Am I just shooting the messenger?
And one more: Am I assuming bias just because I don’t like the story?
Smart news consumers seek truth, not comfort.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
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