Over the last two days, we’ve been at the pool and the kids have been enjoying meeting new friends and their neighbors. I’ve enjoyed meeting our neighbors at the pool as well. We’ve determined that the best time to come is between 5PM and close as the sun’s UV rays tend to be below 3 on the UV index, and that makes it so much safer for the kids and the adults.
I am very sensitive to the sun and burn easily as a former North easterner. This is one of the reasons I setup a local weather monitoring station – to monitor and record real time and historical weather conditions and data that occur right here in our ‘Hood. You can always check to see how high the UV levels are by bookmarking the station page on your mobile phone. This helps determine whether conditions are truly safe for pool or outdoor play. UV index values break down into the following ranges:
- 0-3: Generally regarded as safe without need to apply sunscreen – enjoy and be care free!
- 3-5: This range generally means that you SHOULD be re-applying sunscreen every 20 minutes when out in the sun.
- Anything over 5: Consider play indoors and remain out of the sun as much as possible. These higher levels are not safe!
A look at historical UV levels on the Trautz Lane weather station – you can view the historians for each weather metric by clicking on any item on the weather station page:
You can clearly see it’s not safe out there until about 5ish. It is about this time that we head to the pool because we know it’s safe. The sun feels nice but UV is substantially diminished. Here’s a picture of fun in the sun but without the danger:
