SPOKANE, Wash. — As soon as summer hit, it was like flipping a switch. The heat has finally arrived in Spokane, and all of central and eastern Washington.
High temperatures will be pushing 90 degrees in Spokane through Friday. Central Washington even warmer than that. Mid-90s will be common and areas like Moses Lake, and the Tri-Cities will be pushing 100 degrees on Friday.
While summer heat will have most of us rushing to the area lakes for some fun, it bears reminding that water temperatures are still rather cold.
Lake Coeur d'Alene is reporting a water temperature of 65 degrees on Tuesday. The Spokane River is currently at 63 degrees. That is still much colder than what a competition swimming pool is normally.
While water at this temperature is not inherently dangerous, those who are not expecting the water to be that cold tend to get shocked as they jump into the waters. Inexperienced swimmers who get that feeling that the water "took their breath away" may be in need of rescuing. That's why you should never swim alone.
Water temperatures always lag behind the seasonal temperatures for any given away. So the water temps usually don't peak until late August for our area as they gradually warm through the summer.
