September 28, 2016: Numerous Waterspouts on Southern Lake Michigan

Overview

There were over a dozen sightings of waterspouts on southern Lake Michigan on Wednesday, September 28. Many of these were observed from the Illinois and Indiana shores. The setup for waterspouts had been well forecast, being noted in NWS marine forecasts and messaging over 36 hours in advance.

Photo courtesy of Nick Schrader from Indiana Dunes State Park

Video
Reports
Environment

Video:

This waterspout video from September 28, 2016 is courtesy of Randall Stieghorst, looking straight east from the north side of Chicago.

Storm Reports

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL
507 PM CDT THU SEP 29 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0830 AM     WATER SPOUT      5 NNE LINCOLN PARK      42.00N 87.59W 
09/28/2016                   LMZ741             IL   PUBLIC          

0840 AM     WATER SPOUT      11 NNW DUNE ACRES       41.79N 87.18W 
09/28/2016                   LMZ779             IN   PUBLIC          

0845 AM     WATER SPOUT      12 ENE NAVY PIER        41.95N 87.40W 
09/28/2016                   LMZ779             IL   PUBLIC          

0912 AM     WATER SPOUT      8 E NORTHERLY ISLAND    41.86N 87.46W 
09/28/2016                   LMZ779             IL   STORM CHASER    

0920 AM     WATER SPOUT      8 NE EAST CHICAGO       41.71N 87.33W 
09/28/2016                   LMZ743             IN   PUBLIC          

0922 AM     WATER SPOUT      3 E CHICAGO             41.88N 87.58W 
09/28/2016                   LMZ741             IL   PUBLIC          

0929 AM     WATER SPOUT      4 NW CHICAGO            41.93N 87.68W 
09/28/2016                   COOK               IL   PUBLIC          

1229 PM     WATER SPOUT      15 NNW DUNE ACRES       41.84N 87.21W 
09/28/2016                   LMZ779             IN   PUBLIC          

0335 PM     WATER SPOUT      4 E WINNETKA            42.11N 87.66W 
09/28/2016                   LMZ740             IL   STORM CHASER    

0600 PM     WATER SPOUT      2 E WINNETKA            42.11N 87.70W 
09/28/2016                   LMZ740             IL   STORM CHASER    

            4 SEPARATE WATERSPOUTS.


&&

$$

IZZI

Environment


An 850 mb (~5000 ft) map on midday September 28, 2016. A strong early autumn cold front has ushered chilly air southward, atop lake temperatures that were running near record high temperatures for late September. The near-surface air was warmed by the waters creating instability.	The general science behind waterspouts.

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