Seattle-area weather is hot, but the water is still dangerously cold

Extreme heat is in the forecast for the Seattle-area this weekend and early next week. Tempting as it might be to go jump in a local lake, health officials warn that the water isn’t safe yet for swimming

Just because temperatures will reach the 80s this weekend (and maybe even 90 by Monday), that doesn’t mean the the region's waters have warmed up yet.

“The lakes are in the 50 degree range right now, rivers are upper 30s, maybe low 40s. They're going to be fast, cold, very dangerous," said Tony Gomez who manages violence and injury prevention for Public Health — Seattle & King County

Gomez says recent snowmelt in the mountains will add to local rivers’ chilly temperatures. He’s encouraging people to really limit how long you spend in the water if you plan to take a dip, even for experienced swimmers.

“The danger with the cold water is that a good swimmer who's good in the swimming pool can quickly become incapacitated. Muscles just don't work at that same cold temperature,” he said.

When people plunge into icy water they often take a big gasp, often gulping in a mouthful of water, he warns. Anything longer than a quick splash can increase a person’s chances of becoming sluggish in the water and potentially drowning.

“So you might be OK for a couple of minutes, but then we've seen a lot of drowning and drowning survival cases where at the two-, three-, four-minute mark they're in trouble, they need help," Gomez said.

Gomez says drowning is the number one cause of death for children ages 1 through 4 in King County, and the third highest cause of death for kids under 17.

“In King County, 29 people drowned last year in preventable situations so, you know, it's almost twice as many as the 16 that lost their lives in 2018,” Gomez said.

If you have to take a quick dip, Gomez strongly encourages to always wear a certified life jacket — a pool floaty won’t save you. He also reminds folks that beach parks do not have lifeguards right now, and probably won’t until summer when staffing will be limited.

“It's looking like we're still going to be challenged by a lifeguard shortage in some cases some funding shortages and we're not likely to have the number of lifeguarded beaches we historically had,” he said.

So find a pool or run through a sprinkler, at least until true summer hits and the water is safe to play in.