WEST MICHIGAN — If you took a trip to a Lake Michigan beach over the past couple of days, you may have been shocked by the sharply colder water temperatures. Here's what happened!
After enjoying water temperatures in the 70s at most of the beaches for the past several weeks, water temperatures crashed by about 20-degrees late last week.
The reason for the dramatic temperature drop was due to a process called "upwelling".
As this graphic shows, a shift in the winds pushed that warm surface water away from the Lake Michigan shoreline. As that warm surface water moved out into Lake Michigan, colder water from below the surface moved up to take its place. Since that water was not exposed to sunlight, it was much colder; creating the dramatic temperature drop.
If you are planning a trip to Lake Michigan this week, expect much warmer water temperatures to return to the beaches.
For the latest details on the weather in West Michigan, head to the FOX 17 Weather page.
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