BY ALLEN HOWARD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
It was more chills and chattering than splashing and laughter at Cincinnati pools Monday -- the sixth day of a stubborn cool spell that has shattered records and left residents cranking up furnaces again.
A rebound in temperatures this week will make it feel more like June, but showers will continue to put the damper on swimmers.
William Powell, 12, defied a slow drizzle and temperatures in the 60s at Washington Park Pool in Over-the-Rhine and got his dips in Monday between noon and 3 p.m., when the pool closed because of rain.
William was among about 20 other kids who jumped in between rain drops.
"I like to swim in any kind of weather," William said as he dived in alone about 2 p.m.
Gary Price, pool manager, said about 150 kids usually show up every day to swim during the summer when the weather is good.
In Northside at the McKie Pool, 35 people showed up but found little comfort in the cold water. They were gone at 3 p.m. when the pool closed, said Autumn Stanton, pool manager.
Of the six city pools scheduled to open Saturday, the Mount Adams Pool did not open because of weather, said Kasea Thomas, office manager for aquatics for the Cincinnati Recreation Commission. It will open Wednesday.
Dempsey Pool in Price Hill, the Camp Washington Pool, South Fairmount Pool and the Ryan Pool in Westwood opened Saturday but closed early Monday, Miss Thomas said.
Temperature records fell both Saturday and Sunday, when lows dipped to a chilly 41. And showers are in the forecast through Thursday, dumping close to an inch of rain, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Bill Hope.
Today's high will reach the 70s -- still below the average of 80 -- with lows in the low 60s. Temperatures will gradually increase to the 80s Thursday, and swimmers might finally get a break by Friday, with no rain and temperatures again in the 80s.
