An abnormal weather event caused historical shifts in Lake Superior's water levels, according to MLive.
At Lake Superior's eastern edge, Whitefish Bay saw a record-breaking 45-inch shift in water levels in under three hours. It was caused by what's called a meteotsunami. While tsunami waves are typically caused by underwater earthquakes, a meteotsunami starts from an extreme storm pushing water in one direction, followed by strong winds continuing to push waves in that direction.
The result is a loss of water from one end of the body and an overabundance in the other. As the winds die down, the water falls back into place. This can take some time as water sloshes back and forth. It was during this period, called the seiche, that the 45-inch record was hit.
"The water on the Great Lakes can do some interesting things when the weather systems are spectacular," said meteorologist Mark Torregrossa.
"Spectacular" is one way to describe the weather on June 21. The storms that day caused states of emergency to be declared and the Red Cross to execute evacuations. Property was damaged, roads were destroyed, and people were hurt.
Extreme weather events are becoming all the more destructive thanks to increased atmospheric pollution. This includes storms like this and floods that follow, but also droughts. The direct physical damage is making more and more homes uninsurable and destroying farmers' crops, leading to increases in grocery prices.
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By reviewing the data generated by this particular storm, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hopes to be able to predict these kinds of events more accurately in the future.
"Existing Great Lakes forecast models, such as the Lake Superior FVCOM Forecast System, are capable of simulating and forecasting many key processes in the lakes, such as currents and storm surges," said the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab. "However, fast-moving squall lines, such as those that move across the lake to produce meteotsunami, often evolve too quickly to be fully represented in the hourly data generated by these models.
"Continued research and development of Great Lakes forecast models will be critical to understanding, simulating, and forecasting events like the June 21 storm's impact on Lake Superior."
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