MANKATO — Some people beat the heat at the swimming pool, while others seek respite at the library.
“Absolutely they do,” said Kelly McBride, director of library services at Blue Earth County Library. “We absolutely see an uptick on hot days.”
Any weather extreme tends to bring people inside, she said, including storms and heat waves. “We see more people come in and grab books and movies on their way to get milk and bread.”
At the North Mankato Swim Facility, operational manager Andy Viker said there’s a noticeable increase in traffic at the pool, though some people tend to stay home on hot days.
The pool has a maximum capacity of 750 people and didn’t hit that Monday, Viker said. The high temperature on Monday reached about 90.
At Connors Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning in Mankato, the busiest time of the summer season is at the outset, though hot days such as those this week bring service calls in, too.
“If it’s an emergency, yes, we try to get to them,” said Connors manager Mike Fischer. “We try to get there.”
July is the warmest month of the year, with an average temperature of 83 degrees, said National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Dunleavy. So far this year, the July average is 86 degrees.
“We see our warmest highs somewhere within the month of July. A perfect example is today as southern Minnesota will be seeing highs in the upper 80s to lower 90s,” he said on Tuesday.
This heat wave is a short one, of about two days. “Tomorrow’s high — and break out the sweatshirts — will be only 72,” Dunleavy said. “We’ll feel those effects overnight tonight as that front moves through.”
On Friday and into the weekend, it’ll start warming back up into seasonable temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s, he said.
Last year the region had a cooler July than this year’s so far.
Greater Minnesota was just outside of the heat advisory pummeling other parts of the state on Tuesday. Still, Dunleavy recommends limiting outdoor activities, staying hydrated and wearing light clothing.
“It will be warm, but it won’t be dangerously warm,” he said.
There’s also been an improvement in the air quality, which he describes as moderate and only affecting hyper-sensitive groups. Wildfire smoke is “less of a factor here in south-central Minnesota,” Dunleavy said, than it is elsewhere in the state.
Widespread showers and thunderstorms are predicted going through much of Wednesday. Some rainfall might be heavy and, depending on where storms occur, some areas could see some minor flooding, he said.