The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLREL) is predicting severe wave conditions on Lake Michigan today and tomorrow, and forecasting wave heights building to 20-feet in the northern-central portion.
The wind speed forecast shows sustained winds from the Southwest at 40-knots or higher from about 2 a.m. Sunday until Noon Sunday, November 6, 2022. Winds of gale force are 34 to 47 knots. Winds of storm force are 48 knots or higher.
There are several ships heading southbound at this writing that will be encountering this storm.
I anticipate that some of those southbound ships may divert to take shelter in Good Harbor Bay, just south of Leland.
You can see the latest wave height model output at:
https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/emf/waves/WW3/
As Gordon Lightfoot sang, “ When the Gales of November come early…”
Gales of November
Re: Gales of November
According to AIS monitoring website, at least two commercial ships took refuge from the Gale in Good Harbor Bay. Thanks to very modern weather predictions, it appears that no big freighters had to weather the predicted 20-foot waves in central Lake Michigan.
On southbound large freight hugged the western shore of Lake Michigan all the way down the lake, avoiding the big seas in the central lake.
On southbound large freight hugged the western shore of Lake Michigan all the way down the lake, avoiding the big seas in the central lake.