Water temperatures very cold despite warm weather
MID-MICHIGAN -- The United States Coast Guard is warning boaters that despite warm air temperatures, boaters should not think water is warm enough to be safe.
The Ninth Coast Guard District has issued a warning that, regardless of unseasonably warm air temperatures expected across the region this weekend, water temperatures remain dangerously low.
With little or no ice in areas that traditionally have plenty, at this time of year, Coast Guard units have been busy responding to mariners in distress.
A woman near Detroit was pulled from the water without a life vest showing signs of hypothermia.
Air temperatures are as high as the 60s and 70s are luring more boaters onto the water, but water temperatures are still in the 30s and 40s.
Someone in cold water may have only 10 minutes of functional movement before losing the effective use of fingers, arms and legs.
Someone who is not wearing a life jacket could easily drown, no longer able tread water and remain afloat.
