Maine Cooling Centers & Tips To Beat The Upcoming Heat Wave

When the humidity hits all of Maine this week, be prepared!

Back at the end of June, we had a pretty gnarly run of extreme heat and humidity, well here we are in the dog days of summer, and it is about to rear its ugly head again. Thursday and Friday, the temps will be in the 90s, with a heat index that WABI TV 5's Todd Simcox described as "oppressive" There won't be much relief at night either, because it won't drop below 70 degrees, which can make for a very uncomfortable night of sleep.

If you don't have to be outdoors for long periods of time the next few days, it would probably be best to stay cool, and of course, stay hydrated as well. Keep your eye on pets, and elderly folks as well. And if you have access to a pool, or lake, by all means, take a dip!

In certain counties in the state of Maine, they will open public cooling centers. It's pretty simple to find out the one nearest to you. Simply dial 211 or text your zip code to 898-211. These places really come in handy if you need an air-conditioned spot to take a breather from the humid conditions. 211 Maine also offers a bunch of other services to help out your local community. If we do not have any listings available in your area, many city/town libraries, senior centers, and other public locations are good places to cool off.

The Bangor Parks & Rec Department will set up cooling stations the next two days at the following locations:

• On the Bangor Waterfront from 12 pm-5 pm, this Thursday & Friday. There will be sprinklers there to keep cool
• Pancoe Pool
• Dakin Pool-A cooling station will be open today, the pool will be open Friday
• Davis Road Splash Pad-Open Thursday & Friday

Here are a few tips to remember that will help you stay, safe, cool, and hydrated:

• Stay hydrated with plenty of water
• Spend as much time in air-conditioned spaces as possible
• Check in with any elderly family or neighbors to make sure they're cool enough and taking precautions
• Make sure your pet is staying hydrated and limit their time outside
• Dress appropriately for the weather, with light-colored, loose-fitting clothes
• Use sunscreen whenever you go out and reapply as necessary
• Postpone unnecessary outdoor activities
• Limit children's time outside and keep them inside where it's cooler

This extreme heat can be especially brutal if you don't have air conditioning. I personally have a sky window in my bedroom, which makes mounting an AC unit impossible. However, there are ways to make getting through the day, and night a little less unpleasant.

In this helpful video, there are several great tips to keep cool, including, closing your windows in the morning, cooling down a room with a wet towel and wet floor, changing your bed linen, using ceiling fans, choosing the right clothing for sleeping, shutting off lights when not in use, drinking plenty of water, and freezing a few bottles or other containers with water, and placing them in front of a fan, which will blow cool air throughout the room. a trick which I have successfully tried!