photo by: Mike Yoder/Journal-World

The wind was helping this pooch air-dry its hair at the annual Pooch Plunge Monday, Aug. 15, 2022 at the Outdoor Aquatic Center.

The City of Lawrence’s annual pool day for local dogs — which was scheduled for today — has been canceled due to extreme heat.

On Monday morning, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department announced in a social media post that the Pooch Plunge has been canceled and will not be rescheduled for a later date. The post notes that everyone who registered to participate in the event will receive a refund.

The plunge had already been pushed back once before being canceled; it was originally supposed to take place Monday, Aug. 14, but city staff was needed to address maintenance issues at the city’s indoor aquatic center last week instead.

Today’s temperatures are expected to top the 100-degree mark, with about a week’s worth of 100-degree plus temperatures forecasted through Thursday. Per the National Weather Service, Lawrence remains under an excessive heat warning through Thursday evening. The heat index — what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with air temperature — as of 10:15 a.m. today is 115.

During the heat wave, three of the city’s recreation facilities will be open as cooling sites during their normal operating hours: the Community Building, 115 W. 11th St.; the East Lawrence Recreation Center, 1245 E. 15th St.; and Holcom Park Recreation Center, 2700 W. 27th St.