By Steve White swhite@nebraska.tv
Facebook / Twitter @NTVsSteveWhite
Playing a game they call hurdles kids don't mind if they don't clear the mark. In fact, it's in their interest to miss because the hurdle is a stream of water from a hose, and to miss is to get sprayed.
If it seems like it's been warmer lately, it has been.
Mike Moritz of the National Weather Service office in Hastings said, "Most of the last year with the exception of one month we've been above normal for every month."
As central and western Nebraska flirt with the century mark on the thermometer again, meteorologists calculate we've been about four degrees above normal lately.
"When you add it over every day for a month that does add up," Moritz said. "Think of being 4 degrees warmer at night, four degrees warner in the day. If average high is 87 or 88, all of a sudden you're 92 or 93 when you look over a long time span, a few degrees makes a difference."
That can hit those less fortunate in the wallet.
Salvation Army social worker Susan Anderson said, "We have clients say all the time they have air conditioning but can't use them because of expense of using air conditioning so that's why fans come in handy and if they don't have a ceiling fan in their apartment, we have fans here we can give them."
On a recent day, people lined up to get fans from the Salvation Army in Hastings. Now, this charity goes a step beyond, opening its doors to those homeless or close to it.
"If they just want to get out of the heat and take a nap they can come here," Anderson said.
The "cooling center" may need to say open for a while because the heat isn't going away.
Moritz, the meteorologist said, "I think we should anticipate a pretty warm summer the next three months."
The Salvation Army in Hastings is open 11 to 4:30 as a cooling center. The health department in Grand Island encourages people to use local libraries to stay cool.
They also ask people to check on at-risk neighbors and friends at least twice a day.
