Too hot? Lake Erie is still way too cold

6:14 PM, May 3, 2012   |    comments
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CLEVELAND -- It's nearly 90 degrees outside but Lake Erie is still a chilly 49 degrees...and that's very dangerous.

We're out here on Lake Erie with Captain Ken Malcolm, who just put his new 27-footer in the water today, sailing out from the Inner City Yacht Club.

But this is a very unusual time, 90 degrees in the air but barely 50 for Lake Erie's waters.

The water is still so cold, and dangerous, even the Coast Guard requires more than just the regular life jacket everybody on your boat should be wearing.

If you're tempted to just plunk the boat in the water and get an early start on the season just because it's so hot, there are many more things that ought to be on your check list before you even think about pulling out onto Lake Erie.

Nobody knows better than the Coast Guard about how fast hypothermia can set in when Lake Erie is barely 50 degrees.

They don't take any chances and neither should you if you'll be out there before the water warms up.

If you are not in a Coast Guard wet suit, this 50 degree Lake Erie water can be deadly.

At this temperature, you've got about an hour in the water before you lose consciousness and no more than three hours until you die.

Not to rain on anybody's planned fun on Lake Erie but that's something you've really got to remember.


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