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
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Before You Dismiss This Article…
We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.
When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.
The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.
Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.
Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.
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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