85 years ago: Lake Michigan tsunami kills 5

OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. – While tsunamis are most often associated with oceans, they are more common in the Great Lakes than you may expect.

Around 106 meteotsunamis are observed in the Great Lakes each year, although many are too small to notice.

Meteotsunamis are similar to tsunamis caused by earthquakes that devastate cities near oceans and seas, but are instead formed by air-pressure disturbances associated with thunderstorms, squalls and other storm fronts, according to NOAA. The storm creates a wave that moves across the shore, and is amplified by coastal features like bays, inlets, and continental shelves.

They form in many other places across the planet, including the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Coast and the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas.

In April 2018, two meteotsunamis formed on Lake Michigan in the same day. Other meteotsunamis on the Great Lakes have risen up to 7, 10 and 12 feet in the last 31 years.

The largest meteotsunami was recorded in Croatia in 1978. Its waves reached up to 19.5 feet and lasted several hours.

Scientists have identified conditions that are more likely to form a meteotsunami, but they are still hard to predict and identify, making it difficult to warn the public before they hit.

One 10-foot-high meteotsunami in Lake Michigan killed five people and endangered 27 others on July 13, 1938 in Holland.

The wave reportedly came out of nowhere on a calm afternoon. Members of the Coast Guard tried to warn swimmers not to go in the water, but the wave’s “sudden” undertow pulled swimmers into rough waters, while the wave threw people off of piers.

“It looked as if the lake took a deep breath and all at once the calm was broken,” Coast Guard member Robert Bush told the Holland City News the next day. “The surf rolled on the beaches, and within 10 minutes the breakwaters were awash. After the calm there was not much wind, but it seemed that there must have been terribly heavy squall further out in Lake Michigan.”

When a 15-year-old girl was swept from the north pier, 25-year-old William Miller jumped in the water after her. The Holland City News reported Miller was able to bring her to safety “just in time, before the undertow took her out.” Miller was exhausted by the time he got the girl to the beach, but “undoubtedly” saved her life.

Back on land, boats like the U.S.S. Cumberland were forced to find safety in nearby harbors. Lyons Construction Company crew members helped bring 15 people to safety.

Nearly three miles north, a maid and a member of Third Reformed Church drowned at Tennessee Beach. Meanwhile, one employee of the Michigan Bell Telephone Company was killed during a company picnic at Tunnel Park.

The bodies of the other two people who drowned were found three days later.

In the decades since, the United States has developed early stages of a meteotsunami forecast and warning system. The National Weather Service recommends the public listens to any warnings issued by their local NWS offices.

To access an interactive map of NWS forecast offices across the country, click here.