CLEVELAND — The National Weather Service is warning swimmers in Northeast Ohio to stay out of the waters of Lake Erie until Monday morning.
The NWS issued a Beach Hazards Statement, which took effect at 8 a.m. Sunday and will last through Monday morning, as a "high risk of rip currents" is expected.
The warning Sunday morning is in effect for beaches in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga and Lake County. The same warning will take effect in Lorain County at 8 p.m. and extend through Monday morning.
The weather service said high winds and wave heights as large as 2-5 feet are expected, which will cause dangerous currents on the lakeshore. Swimmers should not enter the water, and swimming is especially discouraged in waves of 4 feet or higher.
"Currents can carry swimmers away from shore through a sand bar and along structures extending out into the lake," the NWS said. "Remain out of the water to avoid hazardous swimming conditions.
The warning comes weeks after a 10-year-old boy went missing and was presumed to have died in the water near Conneaut Township Park amid similar conditions. A Beach Hazards Statement was in effect at the time the boy went missing.
In addition to the hazardous weather conditions, the Northeast Regional Sewer District said water quality at local beaches Sunday is "poor." Edgewater Beach and Villa Angela Beach both tested high for bacteria, including testing above the established threshold limit for predicted E. coli concentration.