PHOTO GALLERY: Around Columbia during the warm weather

June 25, 2012 | 6:04 p.m. CDT

Looking around Columbia to see how heat has affected the wildlife. Sunday temperatures at Columbia Regional Airport reached 100 degrees, the hottest day of the year so far. Forecasts for Thursday predict a high of 103 degrees.

Leaves of a Redbud tree hang under the sun Monday. According to The Weather Channel, the temperature could reach as high as 103 degrees Thursday. | Yi Gan

A Bald Cypress, a deciduous conifer native to the wetlands of southeast Missouri, beautifies the area at the south side of Gannett Hall at MU. | Yi Gan

A water sprinkler in the garden outside the MU chancellor's residence on the Francis Quadrangle keeps plants from drying out.

| Yi Gan

A dragonfly rests on a leaf of water lilies in the Wildlife Pond on the northeast corner of campus. | Yi Gan

Leaves and flowers of water lilies float on the surface of the MU Wildlife Pond, which is between Stephens and Lefevre halls. According to the Mizzou Botanic Garden website, this pond was created in the 1920s from a spring north of one of the buildings, and it is now home to several water plants native to Missouri, including water lilies, pickerel weed, copper iris and meadowsweet. | Yi Gan

A Hibiscus flower sits under the sun on Monday in Flat Branch Park. Red and white Hibiscus decorate the area around Locust Street. | Tatiana Fernandez

Water covers the ground around the fountain in Flat Branch Park on Monday. The park was quiet and empty early Monday afternoon. | Tatiana Fernandez