Hot Summer Warming Up Lake Michigan, Experts Say

Lake Michigan is not only at record-setting water levels, but the temperature of the water is also approaching record levels too.

The average surface water temperature was 75.3 degrees on July 9, setting a record for the month based on 26 years of record keeping, government scientists said.

The summer high is 75.6 degrees recorded in August 2016, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA.

That mark likely will be broken this year, said scientist Andrea Vanderwoude of NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab.

“I’m loving this,” Whitney Miller, a swim instructor, told the Traverse City Record-Eagle. “Last year I was in a wetsuit up through the 15th of July. ... I was a popsicle.”

The air temperature in the Traverse City topped 87 degrees for 11 consecutive days, according to the Midwest Regional Climate Center.

“It’s a rare occurrence up here to get that long of a stretch of that weather and not cool down at least for a day or two,” said meteorologist Matt Gillen of the National Weather Service.