Binghamton and other cities across New York saw record-high temperatures this week. It’s cooling down now but experts advise the heat can still be a risk.
WSKG's Binghamton-area reporter Celia Clarke talked with some Binghamton residents about how they have stayed cool.
Marlene Mendoza sits on a bench in the shade of a large tree in Columbus (Assata Shakur) Park. Around her are bags of bottled water and snacks.
The city considers the park’s splash pad a cooling center. Mendoza’s kids love it.
“The other little kids come and play with them. And then they’ll play with their water guns and splash each other, so that’s why I just bring them here.” she said.
The splash pad has three red tulip-shaped buckets in the center. They are on tall poles and every few seconds they slowly fill with water then tip over dumping it onto whoever is below. A little boy lays on the ground to get soaked repeatedly.
The pad isn’t just for kids. Nickade Ramsey steps out from under one of the sprinkler wearing a soaking wet bright orange t-shirt and long pants. He said he comes here straight from work.
“I come to the park and cool down. I get wet and I stand in the wind, in the shade,” he said.
The state health department has a list of cooling centers in each county.
Over in Recreation Park the pool is packed with kids and adults. Kids cannonball in, climb out and do it again and again.
Jennifer Zeng is here with her 8-year-old son. This is not the only way her family cools down. They eat differently, too. In hot weather, she makes a cold mung bean soup.
“My mom [and] my grandma, they[‘re] cooking this way. In summer, [we] eat this soup and [it] makes [the] body cooler,” Zeng laughed as she talked about how refreshing the soup is.
Extreme heat can be dangerous. Some of the signs are heavy sweating or no sweating at all, cold clammy skin, cramps or nausea. The National Weather Service in Binghamton forecasts temperatures will continue to be above average this summer.