Lake Michigan, 2021

Marine Strong Wind in Lake Michigan, May 1, 2021

May 1, 2021 · NWS LOT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Strong southwest winds occurred over southern Lake Michigan during the afternoon of May 1st with gusts as high as 45 mph. An 18 foot long boat with four men onboard capsized around 215 pm near the East Chicago Marina after taking on water.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
3
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LOT wrote it up.

Strong southwest winds occurred over southern Lake Michigan during the afternoon of May 1st with gusts as high as 45 mph. An 18 foot long boat with four men onboard capsized around 215 pm near the East Chicago Marina after taking on water. Three of the four men were pulled from the water about two miles from their boat. All were suffering from hypothermia. One man was in critical condition. The fourth man was missing and the search ended with sunset. Water temperatures were around 50 degrees.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 1, 12:54 PM CST, 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 1, 12:54 PM CST, 21 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 marine strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Marine Strong Wind, Calumet Harbor Il to Gary in

When
May 1, 1:15 PM CST
Where
Calumet Harbor Il to Gary in forecast zone, 0.74 mi WNW of Buffington Harbor
Measured
39 kt (45 mph) estimated gust
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
3 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
41.655, -87.423

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Marine Strong Wind, Calumet Harbor Il to Gary in2021-05-0120MaleIn WaterDirect

What these are

Marine Strong Wind
Non-thunderstorm winds of 34 to 47 knots over water.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Lake Michigan in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather history

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 957432.