Lower Michigan is surrounded by water on the north, east and west. Any wind from those directions will blow air over the water and then over Lower Michigan. The cold water will cool the air and keep us in a chill. It's a nice cooling effect on a hot summer day, but it's a frigid effect in April and May.
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A north-northeast wind has pushed the warmer surface water along the Michigan shore back toward the middle of Lake Michigan and brought up colder water from well beneath the surface. This process is called upwelling.
Though not as warm as the oceans, temperatures of Lake Michigan do rise to the high 60s in July and August to make swimming enjoyable, and definitely refreshing!
Lake Surface TemperatureSurface temperatures of Lake Michigan follow a monthly pattern with the warmest temperatures occurring in late summer and early fall and the coolest temperatures occurring in late winter and early spring (Figure 17).
It is always more risky to swim in one of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan has the best beaches, can get “warm” [low to mid 70s] in July and August and even stay that way for a couple of weeks in September, so it is Great Lake that is often swum in. However, it also accounts for the most drownings.
Erie is the most southerly, shallow, and biologically diverse of all of the Great Lakes. Its shallow depth makes it the warmest Great Lake and a favourite destination for summer recreationists and migrating birds.
According to Leinbach, Michigan's shores simply have science on their side. The winds generally go from west to east in this country, and that means that the warm water in the summer gets pushed to the Michigan side of the lake, he explained. So the water is warmer for swimming and playing and things like that.
Safe for Swimming? The answer is, it depends. Under the right conditions, Lake Michigan is safe for swimming. But this lake can also present dangerous, even deadly, conditions for swimmers.
Lake Superior is the world's largest freshwater lake by area (31,700 mi2 /82,100 km2). It is also the coldest and deepest of the Great Lakes, with a maximum depth of 406 meters (1,332 feet).
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third-largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
When the lake is deep, and the angle of incoming light is smaller, Lake Michigan's color appears deep blue. This is because the light travels down with little obstructions and dissipates far below the surface. The light then appears darker in the visible spectrum.
Great Lakes that have completely frozen include Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake to have never frozen entirely.
Lake Michigan's riptide and longshore tides are unparalleled when it comes to danger among all the Great Lakes. In fact, due to its unnaturally strong winds, it's not unusual for this lake to have strong rip currents that can be dangerous for swimmers.
The blue in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron is sediment brought to the surface when strong winds churned the lakes. The green in Lake Erie and in Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay is algae, which builds on the surface when winds are calm.
Dreyer is the only person who has swum the width of Lake Michigan between Wisconsin and Michigan, having swum from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, to Ludington, Michigan, in 1998. In the 2023 swim, he was attempting to beat his own record by swimming 25 miles further in the route from Milwaukee to Grand Haven.
Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes by surface area and volume. It is like a mini-freshwater ocean, you can't even see the other side from the Wisconsin shoreline.
The Great Lakes are fascinating and a dream come true for swimmers. Yes, we can all swim in the Great Lakes. It's even possible to swim in all five Great Lakes in less than 24 hours!