ALGOMA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – With three days in a row of sweltering temperatures, many people headed to the beach to try to escape the heat.
On the section of Lake Michigan sand at Crescent Beach in Algoma, Carmen Polomis, her husband, and two kids seem to be taking it easy.
“This is actually our first time here. We made like a summer bucket list for this year, and this is one of those things we wanted to do. So we took today off, to make sure we can get it in.”
Not far away, Keith Niesen and his family are settling in for the day.
“We just got the grill, and the food, and the pavilion, just to stay out of the sun. Yeah, it’s going to be a great time.”
Rory Groessl is watching from the comfort of this chair, while his wife and children test the Lake Michigan water.
“We have this beautiful boardwalk here. We have a beautiful beach. You got a nice warm day like today, What better place to take the kids?”
Crescent Beach stretches for about a half-mile. Some say there’s more sand in 2021.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tracks the water levels across the Great Lakes. On Lake Michigan those levels are still 15 inches above the long-term monthly average for July. But they are 19 inches below last year, which was a record for July in 2020.
“I’m surprised. I’ve lived here all my life, and how the water was the last few years, we finally, it looks like we got a little bit of beach back,” said Groessl.
Groessl says having more beach is important, but so is a place to cool off.
“We really didn’t have a reprieve here in Algoma. It’s been 80-90 every day.”
“It’s pretty warm. Yeah, everybody’s jumping in the water to stay cool, so yeah, summer is here,” said Niesen.
“We’re just trying to do anything water-related we can because it’s so hot. I’m enjoying it while it lasts, because it’s Wisconsin. So we’ll take it,” said Polomis.
On a typical busy weekend, Crescent Beach can attract hundreds of visitors.
Officials say with pandemic protocols loosening, and more people getting outside, they expect that trend to continue.
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