Swam with a triathlon club at a lake in upstate NY last night. It's got buoys set up in a roughly half mile triangle. The triathlon is scheduled for this Saturday. So I figured, just 2 loops, but not enough time for 3 or 4 since I had to pick up my daughter at the airport later. I was not even a quarter mile into it when ominous looking clouds came over the horizon. On the third leg, still 200 yards from shore, a few drops came down, then a bit more, then a lot more, then freakin hail stones beating on my head with winds to produce a significant chop. As I turned my head to breath, the hail stung my face, so I had to switch to 4 stroke breathing. The lifeguards cleared the lake. I got out post-haste, but maybe a dozen people stayed in and kept going until the storm passed a half hour later. Lucky for all there was no lightening, but it was the sort of storm that could have produced some.
I remember thinking once, " the rain won't bother me - I'm in the water anyhow." Not so.
Disconcerting to suck in a bunch of air - mixed with water.
Hail would be daunting, indeed.
I'm not sure about lightning in any sizable lake. Of course, swimming in it is a very bad idea, but I've heard that if it doesn't hit within a few yards of a swimmer, they're OK. Any thoughts?
Yikes! Where there's hail, there's lightening and that doesn't mix with water at all! Glad you got out safely.
Read this about lightning near/on water. It can be deadly. oceantoday.noaa.gov/.../
