Blog EntryHeat Wave, Seattle StyleMay 14, '08 2:39 AM
for everyone

We're bracing for a heat wave here in Seattle.  They're expecting us to break several temperature records on Friday, but the forecast did not come without this warning:

RIVERS FED WITH SNOWMELT COULD EASILY HAVE
WATER TEMPERATURES IN THE 30S. DURING SPRING HEAT WAVES OF THIS
MAGNITUDE...IT CAN BE AN IRONIC TWIST OF FATE FOR PEOPLE TO
ESCAPE THE HEAT BY JUMPING INTO RIVER AND LAKES...ONLY TO SUFFER
OR EVEN DIE FROM THE HYPOTHERMIA BROUGHT ON BY THE FRIGID WATER
TEMPERATURES. DESPITE THE HOT WEATHER...PEOPLE SHOULD STILL USE
COLD WATER SAFETY PRACTICES BY WEARING A WETSUIT WHEN GOING INTO
SUCH COLD WATERS.

Only in Seattle could a person be in danger of dying of hypothermia during a heat wave.

 


11 CommentsChronological   Reverse   Threaded
blackaliss wrote on May 14
lol, there is a swimming hole here that is always that cold.
csasarge wrote on May 14
Hmmm, Wonder if "brother Al has an explination for where the melting snow came from that is the cause of the dangerously cold water? Did he not say we would have no more snow? That the Earth was sick and running a high temperature? LOL. cause
nickgerman wrote on May 14
hold on there.......Minnesota is like that too
mellybrelly wrote on May 14
I've actually done that.. and it was almost an issue, not only was it freezing, but the river was still really high because of a huge snowfall that winter. (Our rivers feed right out of the mountains that are right there) I jumped in and it was a really fast current, and holy crap it was cold.
jvon wrote on May 14
I've stuck my foot in and had that bone-chilling ache go clear up to my knee... and decided I wasn't THAT hot after all.
mellybrelly wrote on May 14
Yeah, that probably would have been smarter.
jvon wrote on May 14
Don't feel bad, I dove into shark-infested water with dangerous currents off Montauk Point once because I was really hot, and brought all the guys running out of the Coast Guard station. I think they were placing bets on whether I'd get eaten or swept out to sea. I never swam so fast... or so hard, anyway (I barely moved).
blackaliss wrote on May 14
Ok if you jumped in to shark infested waters you deserved to be eaten. There were always shark sightings around Savannah, and we're talking large hammerheads, and people would still swim out pretty deep. Sorry but I am not swimming in any water not clear enough for me to see at least 50 feet out.
blackaliss wrote on May 14
Oh what I meant to say was you reminded me of this aussie guy I knew who would go out on one of those surf board thingys with a sail, at night, in waters full of great whites and white tips. I asked him once what would happen if he fell off the board, he said you usually just got bumped in the leg and that you would want to get back up on the board quickly.
jvon wrote on May 14
There were always shark sightings around Savannah, and we're talking large hammerheads, and people would still swim out pretty deep.
Oh no, you get the Great Whites off Montauk, and not a lot of people swim there. (Certainly not off the point.) But it was HOT.

My plan was to jump in and climb back out, but the current grabbed me right away and I had to swim like hell just to stay in place.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1376535983067251495iCgpCT -- replica of biggest shark ever caught, just a couple miles away from my swim.
blackaliss wrote on May 14
One of the Hammerheads spotted in an inlet was 14 feet long, I'm sorry but big shark, big teeth, bad attitude, I wouldn't want to be in the water with any of them
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