Special Marine Warning Issued for Lake Michigan
If you are in immediate danger, call emergency services now.
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NWS Chicago has issued a Special Marine Warning for open waters from Winthrop Harbor to Wilmette Harbor out to Mid Lake until 12:30 AM CDT due to strong thunderstorms.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Special Marine Warning
- Affected area
- Lake Michigan
- Issued
- September 5, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Chicago IL
Marine notices apply to named waters or shoreline zones. They may not describe conditions on land, even when the nearest place name is the same.
Record status: publication date is recent, but current status is not stored on this page. Check the issuing agency's live warning service before acting because warnings can be updated, narrowed, or cancelled.
Alert Details
A Special Marine Warning has been issued by the National Weather Service in Chicago IL. The alert is effective from September 4, 2026 at 11:12 PM CDT until September 5, 2026 at 12:30 AM CDT.
Affected Areas
Open waters of Lake Michigan from Winthrop Harbor to Wilmette Harbor IL, 5NM offshore to Mid Lake (LMZ777).
What You Should Do
Move to safe harbor until hazardous weather passes. Frequent lightning is occurring with these storms. If caught on the open water stay below deck if possible, keep away from ungrounded metal objects.
Expected Conditions
At 11:12 PM CDT, strong thunderstorms were located along a line extending from 26 nm northwest of St. Joseph Light to 11 nm east of Waukegan Harbor, moving east at 25 knots. Hazards include wind gusts to 40 knots and small hail.
Timeline
The warning is in effect from September 4, 2026 at 11:12 PM CDT until September 5, 2026 at 12:30 AM CDT.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
Related Weather Alerts
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Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this NWS weather alert: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (929 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (high) notices issued closest in time to September 5, 2026.
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