Oregon Public Broadcasting

It’s a dangerous combination: hot weather and cold water.

Water safety experts are warning people to think before jumping into rivers and lakes to cool off this weekend.

That’s because the water is still very cold – snowmelt cold.

Linda Quan is an emergency doctor at Children’s Hospital in Seattle. She says even good swimmers can get into trouble quickly.

Linda Quan: “Basically cold numbs your nerves and it also makes your muscles not able to work so you do become effectively, if you will, really slowed down by cold water and really unable to use your arms and legs the way you expect them to function.”

Quan says currently Northwest water temperatures are in the forties and that’s dangerously cold. Plus rivers and streams are moving fast – often faster than they appear.