Beachgoers should stay out of the water at Lake Michigan all day Monday, as waves at Illinois, Indiana and Michigan beaches are projected to reach heights between 3 and 6 feet.
“We always say when waves are high, stay dry,” said Zachary Yack, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Early Monday, the weather service announced a high swim risk through the evening, warning of high wave action and potentially life-threatening rip currents. The risk will be lifted at 7 p.m. for Illinois beaches, and at 9 p.m. for northwest Indiana beaches, Yack said.
He said if people are planning to go to the beach, they should stay out of the water or postpone their visit to another day.
“With waves this high and the currents, even experienced swimmers can get in trouble out there because a lot of beaches aren’t guarded in places,” Yack said. “That increases your risk of getting yourself in trouble and often leads to drowning.”
When a cold front came through the area Sunday, Yack said, breezy, onshore winds behind it helped push and pile the water onto the shoreline and build higher waves. Since winds were still elevated late Monday morning, around 20 to 25 miles per hour, waves continued to reach elevated heights, Yack said.
Wave heights are expected to gradually come down through the day, but will stay in the 3-to-5-foot range until later in the evening, Yack said. Around 7 p.m., he said, heights should decline to the 2-to-4-foot range, and reach the 1-to-3-foot range overnight.
