Saskatchewan finding ways to stay cool amidst heat wave

As the sun continues to beam down on Saskatchewan amidst a heat wave, people are trying to find a way to enjoy the heat and stay cool.

Kiddie pools, sprinklers and hoses have all been flying off the shelves as well as air conditioner repairs. 

One solution is cooling clothing, which is a water-cooled PPE for working in the heat.

Usually, this is a shirt with narrow tubes that circulate water through an ice pack to keep you cool and comfortable.

Bill Patterson, assistant manager with Outter Limits in Saskatoon, said this has been an extremely popular item.

“Definitely, people want to be getting out in the summertime,” said Patterson. “Protecting yourself from the heat and the sun is pretty important.”

Patterson said they have a bunch of different cooling shirts that vary from the original.

“There’s lots of merino wool, lots of people think wool is going to be hot and itchy but merino wool is very specifically great at cooling you down in hot temperatures,” said Patterson. “Even things that are made with linen or hemp have a lot of airflow.”

But as Saskatchewan continues to sweat out this heat there might be some relief on the way.

Terri Lang, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada said Thursday will be the hottest day as temperatures will start to cool off.

“This is the last of this,” said Lang. “Then we’ll kind of settle down to more regular heat.”

This hot weather system has had quite the travels as Lang said it originated down by the west coast in the United States.

“It’s the same system that brought the heat really to dust valley in California,” said Lang. “(It’s a) big ridge of high pressure in the upper atmosphere, just this big dome of heat moving in.”

The amount of rain Saskatchewan saw in the spring has led to more humidity in the air during this heat wave.

“We’re generally not used to the humidity, but it’s only the last couple (of) years that have been really dry,” said Lang. “So people forget that we do get these humid days, the summer that we’ve had so far is kind of what we are supposed to be getting.”

Temperatures are expected to cool off heading into the weekend.