USCG urges cold water safety following May fatalities
The U.S. Coast Guard warns of cold water hazards following five fatalities across the First Coast Guard District within the month of May.
The Northeast had 30 recreational boating fatalities in 2019, and 50 in 2020. There have been five fatalities within the first two weeks of May alone.
While the weather may be heating up, the water temperatures are dangerously low in the 50s and don’t typically get warmer until mid-summer around July and August. Water this cold can physically incapacitate someone in less than 10 minutes, leaving them physically helpless in the water unable to use their arm, legs, feet, and hands.
Water temperatures below 70 degrees will quickly lower body temperature resulting in hypothermia, resulting in a loss of dexterity, motor control, mental confusion, and unconsciousness.
