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PRINTSafe Swimming Tips
Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of the swimming season for many through out the country. Exercising caution and care will help make time spent in the water enjoyable. Here are some safety tips to follow from the American Red Cross.
· Never swim alone or allow your child to swim without supervision. A person in distress in the water needs help within the first six minutes.
· A nonswimmer requires a considerable amount of shallow water to play in, without steep drop-offs. Mark off safe swimming areas, if possible or explain the swimming boundaries to children.
· A nonswimmer should not go in water above shoulder height even with the use of floatation devices.
· Swimmers should always swim diagonally across a current and with its flow, even though they may come to shore some distance from their entry point. This fact is particularly true of river and tidewater swimming, where currents run parallel to shore.
· Don’t swim when you are overheated or overtired.
· Keep basic rescue lifesaving equipment readily available such as a ring buoy or backboard.
Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!
Deborah S. Tukua is longtime Farmers' Almanac contrubutor and published author. Her stories "Coffee and Alcohol: Good or Bad for You?" and "Learn How to Can and Freeze" are featured in the 2012 Farmers' Almanac. Read her natural health and wellness blog at Chiropractors' Write Hand.Free Weekly eNewsletter
Farmers' Almanac Long Range Weather
February 8th - February 11th
- Northeast U.S.
Wet snow mixed with rain Mid-Atlantic north through New England; slushy accumulations of 4+" possible.
- Midwest/Great Lakes U.S.
Accumulating snows Kentucky, Ohio, then clearing. Fair elsewhere.
- Southeast U.S.
Wet snow Tennessee, western North Carolina; wintry mix northern Mississippi, Alabama. Elsewhere, rain, then clearing.
- North Central U.S.
Drier, much colder.
- South Central U.S.
Snow parts of Arkansas, then clearing, cold. Clear, much colder elsewhere.
- Northwest U.S.
Drier, but colder.
- Southwest U.S.
Drier, but noticeably colder.
• View entire Long Range Weather Forecast »
• Farmers' Almanac 2011-12 Winter Outlook »
• View the Almanac Daily Planner »
If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.