Water temperatures could pose a risk to those hoping to cool off during a warm Memorial Day Weekend.
"Water temperatures are still in the 60s and maybe in the high 50s in some areas," said Deputy Mathias Weinzierl with the Hennepin County Sheriff's Water Patrol Unit. "That's still considered cold water and can definitely lead to hypothermia in 15 to 20 minutes."
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According to the Minnesota DNR, 70 degrees or higher is the ideal water temperature to swim safely.
Memorial Day Weekend will also bring plenty of boats to Minnesota waters and boaters are encouraged to give their boats a lookover before heading out.
"Just make sure you're going through it to make sure you have all of your safety equipment like lifejackets for everyone on board, your type IV PFD throwable, and your fire extinguisher," Weinzierl said. "If your boat was stored in cold storage or outdoors, you might have to look at the fire extinguisher to make it still good. Cold temperatures can sometimes make that fire extinguisher go bad."
Boat fires have become more prevalent in recent years according to Weinzierl.
"The biggest contribution to that is people who have inboard/outboard motors not running their blowers after fueling," he added. "Those gas fumes remain in the engine compartment and cause a lot of fires."
Preliminary data from the Minnesota DNR shows boating fatalities and non-boating drownings increased in 2021 compared to 2020.