Ready, set … and splash!

Port Orchard’s McCormick Village Park is the place to be to cool off from record heat

PORT ORCHARD — Ready, set … and time to get wet!

Kids and their parents began arriving at McCormick Village Park about 15 minutes before noon on Saturday, well ahead of the time when a Port Orchard Public Works employee was to activate the park’s water splash area to kick off the start of a spell of hot weather in the Puget Sound region.

And at noon, the sprinklers erupted above the splash area to delight the youngsters, suited up for some summer fun during this week of historically brutal temperatures — at least for those of us living in the Pacific Northwest.

At McCormick Village Park, the water splash area will be operating from noon until 6 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, when temperatures threaten to soar near, and then well above, 100 degrees.

As of 1 p.m., the temperature in Port Orchard was unofficially 100 degrees. More records are expected to be broken early next week — most notably on Monday when forecasters expect the thermometer to hover at 108 degrees. That’s significantly above the highest-ever temperature of 103 recorded at SeaTac Airport in 2009.

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