Austin deals with the first scorching weekend of the year

AUSTIN, Texas (KEYE) — It’s the first real hot weekend here in Austin, and people were looking for any reprieve from the heat.

“I like fanning myself with my hand, not doing a lot,” said Francis Giustinina of New York.

It was sizzling out in Austin and, whether it was fanning themselves or doing something else, people were looking for any way to stay cool.

For Mia Lovoi, that meant heading to the pool.

We’re in line to get into Barton Springs. We’re like jonesing to get into the pool!” she said.

And Lovoi wasn’t the only one. Hundreds flocked to swimming pools, trying to beat the sizzling heat.

Lines of people wrapped around Barton Springs Municipal Pool, waiting in the scorching sun just to take a dip in the water.

“I’ve never seen it like this before!” said Amanda Morrell of Austin. “Last time we were here last summer, it was like just at the entrance, so yeah, this is triple ghastly; we were nearly almost not gonna do it!”

As the mercury continues to rise, so should your water intake. Aside from just emerging yourself in water, doctors say you should be drinking two to four ounces of the stuff every hour.

They also say prevention and planning ahead during these hot months are lifesavers.

“The key with heat-related illnesses is really about prevention because once you’ve started to experience symptoms, it can be a little hard to catch up and overcome those, said St David’s Round Rock trauma injury coordinator Kristen Hullum. “The first thing is to pay attention to the weather, try to get out when it’s early in the morning or late in the evening and kind of outside of the hottest part of the day.”

Experts say before going out and about this summer, make sure the places you’re going to have some sort of shade and take an umbrella, just in case.

If worse comes to worst and you find yourself without any place to cool off, the City of Austin has you covered.

“The cooling centers we have available are in the City of Austin; all city facilities are eligible for a cooling center during regular business hours,” said David Wiechmann with the City of Austin homeland security and emergency. “These are eligible for people to come inside and get in the air condition and cool off as a temporary reprieve from the heat.”

But if you are still looking to try your luck getting into one of the city’s swimming pools, all but two of Austin’s pools will be open by June 12.

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