Lakeshore Beach Hazard Warnings Issued By National Weather Service

If you have plans to head out to Lake Michigan today or tomorrow morning, you might want to stay out of the water because of hazardous swimming conditions.

Be cautious if you plan to head to the Lakeshore today or tomorrow morning.  You can expect large waves up to 5 feet high and strong currents that cause dangerous swimming conditions.

The National Weather Service has issued a "Beach Hazard Statement" for Mason, Oceana, Ottawa, Allegan, Van Buren and Muskegon counties.  The warning goes from now until 8am Friday morning.

The National Weather Service is warning that their will be "High wave action, strong currents, and dangerous swimming conditions expected. Piers may be heavily swamped by waves."  The currents will be strong enough to pull swimmers into deeper waters and the high winds can create waves that are able to knock people off of piers.

The National Weather Service also issued a small craft advisory and warned of "North winds 15 to 25 knots with gusts up to 30 knots and waves 2 to 5 feet expected."

The high winds causing the strong current and large waves is due to a cold front moving into the region.  For the next week, we will experience slightly lower temperatures in the upper 70s and lower 80s.  Winds will still be present after 8am on Friday morning, but they shouldn't be strong enough to cause and adverse beach conditions for the weekend.

You can read more about the advisories on the National Weather Service's website.