This week, Lake Michigan was hit by a tsunami. Here’s everything you need to know.
In case you missed it, a meteotsunami just hit the coast near Holland, Michigan.
This is the shore of Lake Michigan. Directly across from Racine.
And yes, we said tsunami. I mean, tsunami-like.
A series of consecutive heavy waves quickly caused the lake’s water level to rise by about two feet, flooding the beach, according to video captured by the Weather Channel from the town of Holland.
So what is a meteotsunami? How common are they in the Great Lakes? And are they dangerous?
Here’s what you should know:
What is a meteotsunami?
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, meteotsunamis are series of large waves caused by fast-moving storms.
These storms typically move faster than 35 miles per hour and cause rapid changes in barometric pressure, said Nate Falkinham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Milwaukee office.
The wave event that occurred near Holland earlier this week was caused by the severe storms that hit southeastern Wisconsin late Monday into early Tuesday morning.
These storm-induced wave events occur all over the world, including in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic coast, and the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas.
They occur in the Great Lakes, typically between March and July, Falkinham said.
How are they different from tsunamis?
A tsunami is a series of huge waves caused by large amounts of water being displaced from one location to another. It is usually triggered by an earthquake or an underwater volcanic eruption.
Meteotsunamis are caused by air pressure disturbances that occur after fast-moving weather systems.
While tsunamis often make national and international headlines due to their great distances, meteotsunamis are regional events. Tsunamis are also much larger and more devastating.
More: How does Lake Michigan influence the weather in Milwaukee?
What is the difference between a seiche and a meteotsunami?
These wave events are often confused with seiches, which also occur in the Great Lakes. A seiche, according to NOAA, is a standing wave that moves back and forth in a partially or completely enclosed body of water. It’s similar to the sloshing of water in a bathtub, but in the Great Lakes, it happens on a large scale.
A seiche is largely driven by wind, while a meteotsunami is caused by air pressure. Seiches also occur over longer periods of time, for example more than three hours. Meteotsunamis last between two minutes and two hours.
Both events can occur simultaneously.
How common are they in the Great Lakes?
About 100 meteotsunamis occur in the Great Lakes each year. Lakes Michigan and Erie are known hotspots for these wave events.
Large meteotsunamis are rare but do happen, Falkinham says. The last major incident occurred in April 2018, when a 71-mph storm hurled an 8-foot wave into Ludington, Michigan, damaging docks and submerging breakwaters.
Are these waves occurring in southeast Wisconsin and Milwaukee?
It’s possible there were some smaller meteotsunamis in southeastern Wisconsin, Falkinham said, but none were large enough to be documented.
Because the jet stream moves mostly from west to east, these wave events typically occur on the east side of Lake Michigan.
According to Falkinham, the worst incident occurred in Chicago in 1954. A rapidly approaching storm created a 10-foot wave that swept many fishermen off a pier, killing seven.
More: Surfers are well aware of the ecological challenges on Lake Michigan
Are meteotsunamis in the Great Lakes dangerous?
Most meteotunami in the Great Lakes are too small to notice, but large ones can bring dangerous waves, floods and rip currents that can injure beachgoers and damage shorelines.
In addition to the meteotsunami that occurred in Chicago in 1954, there have been a number of dangerous wave events over the past hundred years. In 1929, 10 people died when a 20-foot wave receded near Grand Haven, Michigan. In 1998, a meteotsunami on Lake Michigan capsized a tugboat in the harbor of White Lake, Michigan. Seven people drowned after a moderate meteotsunami near Sawyer, Michigan.
Sudden water discharges due to these events can also cause nuclear power plants’ cooling water inlets to dry up, posing safety concerns.
Although these events can be dangerous and even deadly, a reliable warning system has yet to be developed for the Great Lakes.
In general, Falkinham said, it’s best to avoid the coast during thunderstorms. And in the Milwaukee area, the National Weather Service will post special marine warnings and hazard alerts on its X account (formerly Twitter) when large waves and possible flooding are expected.
More: We know more about the surface of Mars than the bottom of Lake Michigan. But what we do know is remarkable.
More: Last year, more than three times as many shipwrecks were discovered in Lake Michigan than ever before. Why?
Caitlin Looby is a Report for America Corps member who writes about the environment and the Great Lakes. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her on X @caitlooby.
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