It’s hot for humans — and animals too. How Sioux Falls is coping with the summer blast

The hottest weather of the season bears down on Sioux Falls this week.

While it’s rare for the city to reach an air temperature of 100 degrees, “we’re going to be pushing it,” said Todd Heitkamp, meteorologist in charge for the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls.

Hot and humid conditions will continue through Friday. The highest heat index values most likely will occur this afternoon and Thursday afternoon. 

“The heat index is going to be over 100, but if we get above 100 (air temperature), it’d probably be Thursday,” Heitkamp said. 

And it’s not just hot for humans. At the Great Plains Zoo, the comfort and safety of the animals, guests and staff are primary concerns in all seasons, especially when they experience extreme heat or cold, said Denise DePaolo, director of public relations and marketing.

“In order to keep our animals cool and comfortable through the summer, we employ a multipronged approach,” DePaolo said. “Some animals, like the tigers, like to get right into the (water) spray. Others, like big horn sheep like to lay on the wet, cool stones just outside of it.”

The animals cope with the heat wave by eating ice with their favorite treats inside. Primates eat fruits and veggies frozen inside. For a carnivore, it could be frozen blood. 

“We freeze big slabs of granite so animals can lay on them and cool off,” DePaolo said. All the enclosures provide either a shaded area or indoor access, or both. 

The animals at the zoo have access to water 24/7, and many have built-in pools in their habitats. 

The zoo watches out for its human guests in the heat too. It offers misting fans and tents throughout the zoo, water fountains, bottle-filling stations and a free sunscreen kiosk. 

Late July and early August typically bring the hottest weather of the year to Sioux Falls. This year, that’s a string of 90-degree temperatures this week. Lately, it has seemed to coincide with when the Air Show is in town, Heitkamp said.

“Any time we have the Air Show, it’s usually pretty hot,” he said, adding that shouldn’t pose any issues for the planes or pilots, but “for the people who go out there, they have to make sure they stay hydrated as much as possible.”

Tips to beat the heat

You still will be able to beat the heat at Sioux Falls pools — there are no plans to adjust operations there for the heat.

The Mayor’s Fitness Challenge at the new Rotary Park fitness court has been postponed from this week to Aug. 9, though.

Xcel Energy shared several steps customers can take to save energy, including:

• Installing a programmable thermostat that raises the temperature when the house is empty and lowers it to a comfortable level when everyone comes home.
• Running ceiling fans counterclockwise in the summer to circulate cooler air throughout the home.
• Opening interior doors to improve the circulation of cool air inside.
• Using a whole-house or attic fan to draw in cool nighttime air and push out hot air during the day.
• Changing air conditioner filters and having air conditioner coils cleaned to improve efficiency.
• Closing drapes and blinds during the heat of the day.

 Customers also can reduce their overall bills by:

• Turning off lights and electronics when they’re not in use.
• Replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs, which use 75 percent to 80 percent less energy than traditional bulbs and last 15 percent longer.
• Running washing machines, dryers and dishwashers with full loads and only after the heat of the day. This helps keeps the house cooler and reduces strain on the electric grid.

Here are some tips from the National Weather Service:

Looking ahead

After this weekend, temperatures will cool back to more like normal or slightly above through mid-August, Heitkamp said. 

“This right now looks like the worst of the heat wave we’re going to experience over the next two to three weeks,” he said. 

The dry weather likely will persist – potentially for the next 10 to 20 days – and has been felt especially in the Sioux Falls area, Heitkamp said.

“The smoke is always going to be there until those wildfires are under control,” he said. “It’s probably not going to be completely under control until the latter part of fall or early winter. We’ll still deal with smoke, but I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as it was before.”

While he said it’s too early to predict what sort of winter is ahead, the outlook for August is above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation. Both are predicted to be normal in September, and both are predicted to be above normal in October.