Hoping to plan a last-minute trip before the unofficial end of summer? Michigan’s Great Lakes offer a great opportunity to cool off and is a quick trip, depending on where you live in the state.
Lake Erie once again, is the warmest of the Great Lakes with temperature in the 70s. Lake Superior temperatures range in the 60 and 70s in some bays.
Michigan’s inland lakes were even warmer in most cases. Bear Lake, in northwest Michigan, registered 81 degrees on Aug. 22. Lake Hudson, in southern Michigan, was 75 degrees.
Most of Michigan’s major inland lakes also are seeing temperatures in the low 70s.
Here are temperatures for Michigan’s lakes as of Friday, Aug. 22.
Which inland lakes in Michigan are warmest?
According to Seatemperatures, here are the current temperatures for some of Michigan’s most popular inland lakes:
How warm is Lake Erie?
Lake Erie, the shallowest of the Great Lakes, reached 77.7 degrees near Woodland Beach.
Lake Erie reaches an average of 76.1 degrees Fahrenheit in August.
Current temperatures for Lake Erie:
What’s the temperature of Lake Huron?
The warmest water temperature in Lake Huron was 72.7 degrees in Port Huron, Michigan.
Lake Huron reaches an average of 69.1 degrees Fahrenheit in August.
Current temperatures near Michigan cities on Lake Huron:
“The lake measures 206 miles across and 183 miles north to south, with an average depth of 195 feet (approximately 750 feet, maximum),” according to the Great Lakes Commission.
What’s the temperature of Lake Ontario?
The warmest water temperature in Lake Ontario near Niagara Falls was 74.8 degrees.
Lake Ontario reaches an average of 72.9 degrees Fahrenheit in August.
Current temperatures for Lake Ontario:
“Lake Ontario is similar to Lake Erie in length and breadth (193 miles by 53 miles). Yet with its greater average depth (approximately 283 feet), Lake Ontario holds almost four times the volume and has a retention time of about 6 years,” according to the Great Lakes Commission.
What’s the temperature of Lake Michigan?
Lake Michigan’s warmest water temperature was 75 degrees near Gary, Indiana.
Lake Michigan reaches an average of 68 degrees Fahrenheit in August.
Recorded temperatures near Michigan cities on Lake Michigan:
“Averaging 279 feet in depth, the lake reaches 925 feet at its deepest point,” according to the Great Lakes Commission.
What’s the temperature of Lake Superior?
Lake Superior’s warmest water temperature was of 68.4 degrees near Batchawana Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Lake Superior reaches an average of 64.6 degrees Fahrenheit in August.
Current temperatures for Michigan towns on Lake Superior:
“With an average depth approaching 500 feet, Superior also is the coldest and deepest (1,332 feet) of the Great Lakes. The lake stretches approximately 350 miles from west to east, and 160 miles north to south, with a shoreline almost 2,800 miles long,” according to the Great Lakes Commission.
When are the Great Lakes warmest?
Temperatures climb in the spring and summer months, reaching peak temperatures in the late summer and early fall, according to GLISA, a collaborative between Michigan State University, University of Michigan and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
(This story was updated to add a photo gallery.)
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Summer may be near its end, but Michigan’s lakes are still inviting. Where it’s warmest
Reporting by Jalen Williams, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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