Chilly Temperatures Have Swimmers Wishing For Real Summer Weather
CHICAGO (CBS) -- We've had some weird weather in the last few months, but jackets in July? They're more than just a fashion statement on Tuesday.
As of late Tuesday morning, the official temperature in Chicago was only 64 degrees, which is the normal low for mid-July. The average temperature for July 15 is 74 in Chicago, and the normal high is 85, according to the National Weather Service.
While Tuesday's more fall-like weather was still plenty comfortable to most people, it's hardly ideal if you'll be spending the morning at swimming practice at an outdoor pool, like members of the Tops West Cook YMCA Swim Team in Oak Park.
For those young swimmers, being in the water wasn't so bad, but getting out into air that was about 15 degrees cooler than the water was horrible.
That's why getting to a dry towel as quickly as possible soon became a less-than-fun run.
"Getting out, cold wind, 60 degrees; it's definitely tough," said swimming coach James Ridgeway.
Being in the water can be tough, too, because at least some part of your body is almost always exposed to the air.
"You're half in the water, and then when your arms are rotating, you're like out of the water, so you have that sensation of the freezing air, and then you have to get back out and it's even worse," Jocelyn Weisman said.
Nothing was worse than doing an interview while sopping wet when it was only in the high 50s and low 60s.
Some swim team members said it's the worst weather they've had for swimming.
Tatiana Kopecka said, when she felt the air outside Tuesday morning, knowing she would be swimming outside, "I was thinking it's going to be so cold, and it's going to be also really cold when I get out of the water."
No sooner had Tatiana and her teammates gotten out, when Lee Coleman was getting in. But he had a story to tell.
"I'm going to tell my grandchildren that I had to break the ice on the pool before I could get into it. Grandfathers get to do that," he said.
Ridgeway swam for Bob Bowman, the same coach as Olympian Michael Phelps, so he told his team the same thing Bowman would tell his swimmers in the same conditions: "Sorry it's cold, but you've got to get in and swim."
