National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

Lake Huron Current Related Incidents (2002-2012)

11 Fatalities, 4 Rescues: 2002-2012

 

    Lake Huron is fourth for the highest amount of current related incidents of all the Great Lakes, with 11 drownings and 4 rescues from 2002-2012 according to the GLCID. This may be a function of how many people actually swim on Lake Huron, the slope of the beaches, or other factors. Lake Huron is prone to rip current related incidents on its eastern shores, similarly to Lake Michigan. This is because weather systems primarily move from west to east, causing more onshore flow (flow moving towards the beach) on the east side of the lake.  

NOTE: INCIDENTS IN THE DATABASE ARE CURRENT-RELATED: MEANING INCIDENTS COULD HAVE BEEN A RESULT OF A COMBINATION OF HIGH WAVES AND CURRENTS. ADDITIONALLY, THESE NUMBERS SHOULD BE COMPARED WITH THE HIGH NUMBER OF VISITORS TO THE PARKS AND LOCAL BEACHES PER YEAR-WHICH IS ON THE ORDER OF MILLIONS.

     Despite less drowning fatalities and rescues, Lake Huron has a weather pattern that is typically present in conjunction with the current-related incidents. This pattern typically involves some sort of cold frontal passage across the lake (from the north or the west). One of the incidents was under southeast flow from exiting high pressure and occurred on the western shores of the lake. The other events were all on the southern or eastern shores. Below are weather maps depicting the typical pattern for rip current development on Lake Huron. Note the passage of a cold front (already passed to the south in most of the images).

 

Seen below are the weather maps (HPC surface analysis archive) of the various days where rip current drowning

deaths or rescues occurred on Lake Huron.

 

HPC surface analysis map from June 29, 2010 at 8 PM EDT. Note the cold front to the east/southeast of the Great Lakes.

 

 

HPC Surface analysis map from August 8, 2007 at 5 PM EDT. Note the cold front south of the Great Lakes.

 

 

HPC surface analysis map from August 20, 2006 at 5PM EDT. Note the Cold Front to the Southeast of the Great Lakes.

 

 

HPC surface analysis map from September 7, 2008 at 8PM EDT. Note the Cold front to the southeast of the Great Lakes.

 

     Below is a map depicting the current related incidents across Lake Huron from 2002-2011. Format is (drowning deaths, rescues). Note that most of the drowning deaths are in the southern portion of the lake and the eastern portion of the lake. The drowning in the far northwest part of the lake (Chippewa county in Upper Michigan) was due to a channel current. There was one drowning in 2012, and it was in the Georgian Bay (not shown on the map).

 

Rip current and channel current (deaths, rescues) on Lake Huron according to the NWS database from 2002-2011.

Image is from Google Maps.

 

     Taking a closer look at the locations where the incidents happened, the pattern common to the other Great Lakes rip current related incidents is seen. Most of the beaches have shoreline structures and or complex sandbar structures. To read more about where rip currents typically develop, go here. In addition, as seen with the other Great Lakes, current related incidents are most likely during high winds and waves. Most of the wave heights observed during rip current incidents recorded in the GLCID are in the moderate range, around 2 to 5 feet. This corresponds to wave heights that most people feel comfortable swimming in.

 

Above is a collage of a majority of the rip current prone areas on Lake Huron.

Top (from the left): Ipperwash Beach: Ontario, Grand Bend Beach area: Ontario, Kincardine: Ontario.

Bottom:  (from the left): Kincardine:Ontario (another beach), Tawas Point State Park: MI, and Bayfield River outlet: Ontario

Images from Google Maps (2011).

 

Wave heights on Lake Huron observed during rip current incidents are in the 2 to 4 ft range for the most part.

Data from the GLCID (2002-2012).

 

 Summary:

     The majority of rip current related incidents on Lake Huron occurred with complex sandbar structures, or a breakwall like structure protruding out into the lake. The typical weather pattern conducive to rip currents on Lake Huron seems to be the passage of a cold front from the west or the north. The reader is encouraged to learn about how this data was collected HERE.

NOTE: INCIDENTS IN THE DATABASE ARE CURRENT-RELATED: MEANING INCIDENTS COULD HAVE BEEN A RESULT OF A COMBINATION OF HIGH WAVES AND CURRENTS. ADDITIONALLY, THESE NUMBERS SHOULD BE COMPARED WITH THE HIGH NUMBER OF VISITORS TO THE PARKS AND LOCAL BEACHES PER YEAR-WHICH IS ON THE ORDER OF MILLIONS.

To read about the other Great Lakes, return to the main page.