OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) is warning swimmers of the possibility of cold water shock and even hypothermia after water temperatures in Lake Michigan dipped dramatically since yesterday.
The NWS shared temperature readings from buoys a few miles offshore of Port Sheldon and South Haven Monday morning that showed a nearly 20 degree drop in temperatures since Sunday.
They wrote that water temperatures off the lakeshore went from the mid and upper 60s to the lower 50s since Sunday.
The NWS attributes the drop in temperatures to strong north winds on Sunday that pushed warmer waters away from the shore.
"A westward transport of water just below the surface occurs during north winds due to the Coriolis force slowly deflecting the windblown water currents to the right," The NWS wrote in a Facebook post.
The NWS said that when the warm surface water is pushed away from the shore, colder water from below the surface moves up to replace it.
Warmer water temperatures are expected to return over the next several days as southerly winds are forecast on Tuesday and Wednesday, brining the warmer water back to shore, the NWS said.
"Until the water warms back up, beware of cold water shock (don't dive into the water... your body may involuntarily inhale), and hypothermia after just 1 hour," the NWS warned in their Facebook post.
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