Cool off in Lawrence

Here are places to go to get out of the summer heat in Lawrence, plus links to more information and resources.

This page is a work in progress. Know of a resource we should add or something that needs to be updated here? Please let us know.

Page last updated Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024

Where to cool off

The Lawrence Community Shelter, 3655 E. 25th St., is not exiting guests when the temperature is above 100°. The shelter is accessible by Lawrence Transit bus Route 1.

People may also ride Lawrence Transit buses to get out of the heat, according to a June news release from the city. Buses are free to ride for 2024. “We ask riders to follow the Transit policy of riding no more than one full loop on a route, after which you are welcome to transfer to another bus route if you desire additional cooling time,” according to the release.

The city is also offering its recreational facilities as places to cool off during their open hours (and notes that all guests must follow facility rules). Folks can also take showers as needed during specific hours.

Lawrence Community Building

115 W. 11th St. (just west of 11th and Massachusetts streets)

Building hours:
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays

Shower hours:
1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
1 to 3 p.m. Sundays

East Lawrence Recreation Center

1245 E. 15th St. (just east of 15th Street and Haskell Avenue)

Building hours:
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays

Shower hours:
4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sundays

Holcom Park Recreation Center

2700 W. 27th St. (just east of 27th Street and Lawrence Avenue)

Building hours:
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays

Shower hours:
8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sundays

Sports Pavilion Lawrence

100 Rock Chalk Lane (~1 mile north of Sixth Street and George Williams Way on the far northwestern edge of town)

Building hours:
5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
1 to 9 p.m. Sundays

Shower hours:
5:30 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays
1 to 8 p.m. Sundays

Heat-related illness

“Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing,” the National Weather Service recommends. “Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.”

Signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, weakness, clammy skin, a fast and weak pulse, muscle cramps, dizziness, nausea and more, according to NWS. The person should move to a cooler environment, loosen their clothing and take sips of water.

Anyone experiencing signs of heat stroke — confusion, combativeness, seizures, slurred speech, headaches, nausea, a strong, rapid pulse and fainting, among others — should be moved to a cooler environment immediately, and someone should call 911. Heat stroke can quickly cause death or permanent disabilities.

“Using a fan to blow air in someone’s direction may actually make them hotter if heat index temperatures are above the 90s,” according to the NWS.

See more about heat-related illnesses on the NWS website at weather.gov/safety/heat-illness.

Severe weather resources

National Weather Service local office (Topeka):
• Find the latest weather forecast info and severe weather advisories for the Lawrence area at this link.

• In the event of rapidly changing severe weather, such as tornadoes, the NWS posts frequent updates on Twitter, @NWSTopeka. You do not need a Twitter account to see tweets from NWS.

• NWS is also on Facebook, facebook.com/NWSTopeka.

• Call 785-234-2592 to hear the forecast.

Douglas County Emergency Management:
• Follow @DgCoEM on Twitter or Douglas County, KS- Emergency Management on Facebook, facebook.com/dgcoem.

• Sign up to receive emergency alerts at dgcoks.org/emalerts.

• Find lots of tips on severe weather and other emergency preparedness on DgCoEM’s website at douglascountyks.org/emergency-management.

• Report storm damage (for non-emergencies only, and after storm danger has passed) by calling the nonemergency dispatch line at 785-843-0250 or 785-832-7509.

Evergy outages:
• Check the status of power outages on the Evergy outage map, outagemap.evergy.com.

• Report a power outage at evergy.com/report-outage, or call 800-544-4857.

• For down powerlines, call 911.

City of Lawrence snow info:
• The city has snow information and a map at lawrenceks.org/snow that shows information about road conditions and snow plow locations. The city typically begins snow and ice control for residential roadways when 2 or more inches of snowfall or icing occurs.

Air quality:
• Check the current air quality index in Lawrence and elsewhere through AirNow, airnow.gov.

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