Winter Storm on Lake Michigan
Winter Storm and Big Waves
On Saturday January 11, 2020, the Midwest experienced alarge winter storm system across the area which created unusually large wavesof 15-25 feet in the southwestern portion of Lake Michigan. With the GreatLakes within inches of their highest levels in history it brought destructionto several areas, homes and businesses along the lakeshore. In the Chicagoarea, and in particular Evanston where I live, all seven beaches disappearedunder these huge waves. Homes along the Chicago Northshore lost their beachfronts as well. Personally, I have never seen waves this high on Lake Michigan,at least on the western side. In this video, shot at Gilson Park in Wilmette,the dunes usually have 20-30 feet of beach between the shoreline and the dunes.The roots of the grasses were the only thing left in many places. The treeswhich used to stand a few feet from the edge of the dunes were now right at theedge and in danger of falling into the lake.
The sound of the waves was deafening, although the wind overtookour microphone no matter what we did to dampen its effect. The ground also hada vibration from the pounding of the waves.
At another beach just south of Gilson, Lighthouse Beach inEvanston, usually has 50-100 feet of sand which had been obliterated by thewaves all the way up to the dunes at Lighthouse Beach. By the next day thestorms had cleared and Lake Michigan had calmed down, returning the beach to itssize before the storm.
The size of the beaches everywhere in the Great Lakes haveshrunk to their smallest sizes in the years since the lowest levels wererecorded in 2013, just seven years ago. The lake levels do rise and fall overgenerations, but not this fast. The storms have also become bigger and morepowerful in the last ten years – due to global warming and climate change. Wewill be covering the threats to the Great Lakes and the Midwest in ourdocumentary.
Enjoy,
Richard Mack & John Manos
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