Gale warning for Lake Superior: 15-foot waves possible

Several gale warnings remain in effect Tuesday for parts of Lake Superior where waves could top 15 feet tall, according to the National Weather Service in Marquette.

Strong gusts of up to 35 knots could create waves topping 15 feet in areas from the Keweenaw Peninsula east to Whitefish Point. The gale warnings last until as late as 8 p.m., according to the weather service.

Gusts are expected to ease up as the afternoon progresses, meteorologist Keith Cooley said.

“They’re actually starting to come down from where they were,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “With a decrease in the winds, the waves will start coming down as well.”

So far Tuesday, gusts around 36 knots have created waves around 101/2 to 111/2 feet near Munising, Cooley said. The weather service has not yet recorded waves approaching 15 feet on Tuesday, but it remains possible as gale warnings continue through the afternoon and evening.

Warnings include:

■Huron Islands to Marquette until 5 p.m. Sustained northwest winds of up to 26 knots with gusts up to 35 knots. Largest waves will be 9 feet with a maximum wave height of up to 13 feet possible.

■Marquette to Munising until 8 p.m. Sustained winds up to 27 knots with gusts up to 35 knots. Largest waves will be around 10 feet with a maximum wave height of up to 14 feet possible.

■Grand Marais to Whitefish Point until 8 p.m. Sustained northwest winds of up to 25 knots with gusts up to 34 knots around 1 p.m. Largest waves will be 9 feet with a maximum wave height of up to 14 feet possible.

Warnings for open waters more than five nautical miles from shore:

■East of the Keweenaw Peninsula until 5 p.m. Sustained northwest winds of up to 28 knots with gusts up to 35 knots. Largest waves will be 9 feet with a maximum wave height of up to 14 feet possible.

■Eastern Lake Superior until 8 p.m. Sustained northwest winds of up to 29 knots with gusts up to 35 knots. Largest waves will be 10 feet with a maximum wave height of up to 15 feet possible.

The eastern shore of Lake Michigan also is under a gale warning until 6 p.m., according to the weather service.

Grand Marais is on the south shore of Lake Superior near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The 200-mile stretch of water between Grand Marais and Whitefish Point has earned the name the "Shipwreck Coast," the Associated Press says.

Operating a vessel in gale conditions requires experience and properly equipped vessels, according to the weather service, which recommended that “mariners without the proper experience seek safe harbor” before the onset of gale conditions.

Experts say maneuvering on lakes during storms is more dangerous than steering through storms on oceans.

The waves are larger on the ocean but farther apart, allowing sailors to prepare for the next one, according to Detroit News archives. During a storm on the Great Lakes, the waves swamp a boat in rapid succession.

"The chop is terrifying," said Jimmie Hobaugh, whose Coast Guard cutter fought through a gale storm to search for the Edmund Fitzgerald freighter, which sank in Lake Superior in 1975 after it was rocked by 90 mph gusts and 30-foot waves. All 29 crew members were killed.

"You're looking at a totally different world."