Potential beach hazards throughout summer season

This week is Beach Hazards and Water Safety week to get everyone in Michiana ready for a fun and safe summer season. Coming out to the beach is all about having a time outside and in the water, but there's some things to keep in mind when you're out here. First off, water temperatures are still incredibly cold, right around 60 degrees. That is still dangerously cold and hypothermia can still develop quickly when your body is in those conditions. If you're wanting to get in the water, i wouldn't be spending any more than 5 minutes in the water.

Next threat that we see periodically throughout the summer are high waves and rip currents. Luckily, there's no concern for either of those this week. But, once the yellow and red flags pop up from time to time later in the summer season, that's when you really need to be paying attention to the rip current risk or just stay out of the water completely. Rip current are just currents of water flowing from shore out to the open water, and swimmers can easily be caught in them and carried out into open water. Drowning is obviously a big concern when caught in one of these so it's important to stay calm. If you find yourself getting pulled farther and farther away from shore, swim parallel to the shore line and then work your way back to land.

Lastly, if you're planning on doing some boating throughout the summer, be sure to have life jackets for everyone on the boat. And, it may be a good idea to have life jackets on the kids or poorer swimmers, especially if high waves or rough surf is expected.