Warm and sunny days had been elusive this summer, but temperatures on Friday suddenly soared and the air was thick with humidity, making the beach at Indiana Dunes State Park the place to be.
Rain late in the afternoon held off long enough for families to enjoy the cool water and warm sand along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Teresa Brewer of downstate North Vernon brought her daughter Emily and her nephew Brenden Hughes to the park as part of their minivacation weekend. As Emily and Brenden played in the sand, Brewer sunned herself.
“We came for the lake and the Three Dune Challenge,” Brewer said of the rugged 1.5-mile trail at the park. “We were excited to have a hot day for the beach finally. This is what we do to cool off. We hang out on the beach.”
The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory. The high temperature was between 89 and 92 degrees, but the heat index was between 100 and 106 degrees.
Farther down the beach, Sara Arm, Chris Papandria and Sandy Harroun all were enjoying the sun as well, while keeping an eye on Papandria’s two children, Ella and Liam.
“It’s obvious why we’re here today,” said Harroun. “It’s a beautiful day. This summer hasn’t been very nice.”
The three came to Chesterton from the Chicago area to beat the heat and the crowded city beaches.
“We don’t come often,” Harroun said. “It’s a lot less crowded than downtown though. And it’s a lot cleaner.”
The beach also makes for a good place for the three to spend time together and have fun while the kids play in the water and the sand.
“It’s one of the many reasons we come here,” Papandria said. “To play in the sand.”
The beach also made a good place to have a group meet-up, said Kelly Walton of Valparaiso. She came to the beach with friends as part of a church event. She moved to the area a few years ago and was excited for the break in the rainy weather.
“When we first moved to the area, we were excited to come to the beach on hot days,” she said. “But there haven’t been many hot days.”
The Nelson family from Morgantown in central Indiana was also out to enjoy the sunny day.
“I’m running a race tomorrow in Valpo,” dad Travis Nelson said. “We came out a day early so the boys could go to the beach. We do it most every year.”
But what’s been different this year is that the weather hasn’t been nice enough to even swim.
“This will be the first time we’ll have been able to use this as an option,” Travis said. “We haven’t even been to a pool or anything.”
Cash, 13, and Kolt, 18, were able to enjoy the water finally, which Michigan State University measured at about 70 degrees on Friday.
“I really don’t get to get in the water anywhere else,” Kolt said.
“And I like it because it’s almost like the ocean,” Travis said.
“And I like the waves,” Cash said. “And being in the water.”
The rest of the weekend is expected to be warm as well, so bathing suits and sand pails will be taking the place of umbrellas and rain jackets this weekend.
The National Weather Service forecasts that Saturday’s high temperatures will be between 92 and 97 degrees, and the heat index will be between 104 and 110 degrees.
With that outlook in mind, some communities have established cooling centers for those in need over the weekend. In Hobart, for example, Fire Stations 1 and 4 will be available for residents, as well as the Hobart branch of the Lake County library. Cooling centers in Gary also will be available this weekend.
Twitter: @schultelaura
