Despite warmer weather, local waterways’ temp still not safe for swimming

With the weather warming up some may have plans to swim in a lake, river, or pond soon.

However, there are some things you’ll want to remember before diving in.

Even though the temperatures outside might feel like summer, the temperatures of lakes, ponds, and rivers are still too cold to swim in.

News Center Seven Dontre Drexelius spoke with Shannon Thomas, the owner of Surf Dayton, about river temperatures.

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Thomas said every day, the temperature of the Great Miami River goes up, making it safer to swim.

“So right now, the river temps about 60 degrees. So it kind of we’ve had a lot of warm weather lately, so it does kind of rise a couple of degrees every day. The lake stays a little colder, but then it’ll start getting warmer on top, and then it’s like obviously a little colder the deeper you go. But yeah, right now, a three-two wetsuit is pretty much all you need you can get, but you can get by with, you know, no wetsuit,” said Thomas.

According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, the ideal swimming temperature for lakes, rivers, and ponds is above 70 degrees. Anything below that could quickly cause hypothermia.