NORMAN — The hot temperatures had Norman resident seeking relief Saturday afternoon at the Splashpad in Colonial Estates Park on East Lindsey Street.
Letrisa Miller and Chris Davey brought their 4-year-old daughter Alexandra to the water park. Alexandra cooled down under one of the colorful water fixtures as her parents watched her from a shaded area.
“I really think she likes playing in the water,” Davey said.
Miller agreed.
“She likes playing with other kids here,” Miller said.
Davey said they like to bring Alexandra to the Splashpad; The facility has limited exits.
“There’s only one way out,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about them running off.”
At 3 p.m. Saturday, about 50 people were at the Splashpad.
“This is the coolest Splashpad,” Miller said. “It has shade for the parents to sit under and it stays clean.”
Rachel Hazewinkel and 2-year--old niece, Chloe, laughed and played in the water.
“The water is quite refreshing,” Hazewinkel said. “A little cool.”
Hazewinkel said the rest of her family also came out to the Splashpad. Her husband played Frisbee golf in the park.
The Splashpad offers a cheap way to keep cool.
“It’s free and it’s close,” Hazewinkel said.
Andrew Taylor, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Norman, said the mercury had reached 94 degrees around 4 p.m. Saturday. That’s one degree shy of the record for Oklahoma City.
Taylor said the normal temperature for June 4 averages between 84 and 85 degrees.
The recent warm up is a result of a strong ridge that is covering the eastern part of the country and it’s building westward over the Southern Plains, Taylor said.
“It’s forecast to stay there for several days,” he said. “There may be some storm system off the coast of California that may move in and break down the ridge a little bit.”
Taylor said it may slowly break down, but don’t expect the temperatures to cool down anytime soon. Hot temperatures are expected over the next few days with very little chance of precipitation.
Meghan McCormick 366-3539 mmccormick@normantranscript.com
