It's Hot In Sioux Falls...But Is It Hot Enough To Cook An Egg?

Chris Gilman, Christine Manika (TSM)

The Sioux Empire is currently experiencing one of the hottest weeks of the summer. The National Weather Service even had most of eastern South Dakota under a Heat Advisory, including Sioux Falls, on Wednesday and Thursday this week. This Heat Advisory is in effect from 2:00 PM until 8:00 PM on Thursday.

Some parts of the Sioux Empire are seeing record-breaking temperatures. Sioux Falls even broke a record that dates back to 1975!

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On Wednesday afternoon, Sioux Falls reached...104 degrees! Woah! The previous record was 103 degrees on July 26th, 1975. That's hot!

Wednesday in Sioux Falls was also the warmest day since last August when the city reached 105 degrees.

This summertime heat will be sticking around the Sioux Empire for a few more days. The National Weather Service says this weekend should provide some relief from the heat.

Since the Sioux Empire is experiencing one of the hottest weeks of the year, I thought it would be a fun idea to try a little science experiment. All I needed was an egg and a whole lot of sunlight.

I wanted to test the heat in Sioux Falls. Apparently, if the weather is hot enough, you can cook an egg on a blacktop pavement or a sidewalk. According to a study from the University of Illinois' Grainger College of Engineering, it's possible to fry an egg on the sidewalk when it's hot outside. But it's unlikely. The study explains, To be fully cooked, eggs must reach a temperature of 158 degrees, and sidewalks can reach temperatures of 145 degrees. The higher the temperature, the more probable your egg will fry." The best way to test this theory is by using the hood of your car. Since my car was not in the sunlight long enough, I decided to conduct this experiment on a blacktop pavement.

Can you cook an egg outside in Sioux Falls in this heat? That was the question I was hoping to answer. My fiancé Chris was also willing to help with the research.

I didn't know what to expect. We left the egg outside for a little bit over an hour. As you can see from the pictures, not much was happening. You can tell from the yolk it was somewhat cooking.

The Sioux Falls Heat Experiment

Four hours later, we decided to check the egg one more time. We were in luck! There was a little progress! The egg did start to look like a fried egg.

The Sioux Falls Heat Experiment

Overall, it looks like this experiment was a bust. It just has to be a little warmer for the egg to cook outside in Sioux Falls. The more you know!

NEED TO KNOW: Sioux Falls Outdoor Public Pools And Spray Park

Summer in Sioux Falls is beautiful. But sometimes you need to cool off. Sioux Falls has some great outdoor public pools in addition to the indoor Midco Aquatic Center.

Sioux Falls' outdoor public pools open for summer 2023 on June 2 (if the weather cooperates).

Sioux Falls public pools are open from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM and from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

Prices are $5 for ages 2 to 17, $6 for adults, seniors 55+ are $5, and children under 2 are free. The Spray Park and the wading pools at Frank Olson, Kuehn, and McKennan are free.

You can also get a Sioux Falls swim pass and swim all summer. You can buy a swim pass at the Midco Aquatic Center or at most of the outdoor pools all summer. For more about the Sioux Falls swim pass click here.

MORE: Can You Say Splashpark? Big Changes Coming to Great Plains Zoo!

Here are the best ice cream shops and stands in Sioux Falls (in no particular order).

I scream, you scream, we all scream for: ICE CREAM! When the snow in Sioux Falls starts to melt, folks start thinking about enjoying something frozen instead of getting stuck in something frozen.

Yes, Sioux Falls does actually get hot. So we dug into the research to find the best places in Sioux Falls to get some good, quality, amazing, ice creamy treats.