Special Marine Warning Issued for Lake Michigan Areas from Wilmette Harbor to Michigan City
This alert is no longer in effect.
NOAA issued it on April 26, 2026, 4 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The National Weather Service in Chicago has issued a Special Marine Warning for parts of Lake Michigan, including areas from Wilmette Harbor to Michigan City, due to severe thunderstorms capable of producing waterspouts and wind gusts over 65 knots.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Special Marine Warning
- Affected area
- Lake Michigan Region
- Issued
- April 26, 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: historical. It was issued 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Lake Michigan Region.
Alert Details
A Special Marine Warning has been issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) Chicago IL. This alert is effective from 9:04 PM CDT on April 17, 2026, until 11:00 PM CDT on the same day.
Affected Areas
The warning affects the following regions: Wilmette Harbor to Northerly Island IL; Northerly Island to Calumet Harbor IL; Calumet Harbor IL to Gary IN; Gary to Burns Harbor IN; Burns Harbor to Michigan City IN; and Lake Michigan from Wilmette Harbor to Michigan City in 5NM offshore to Mid Lake. Specific locations impacted include Calumet Harbor, Indiana Harbor, 31st Street Harbor, Monroe Harbor, Burns Harbor, Marina Shores at Dune Harbor, Burnham Harbor, 59th Street Marina, Hammond Marina, Jackson Park Harbor, and DuSable Harbor.
What You Should Do
Move to safe harbor immediately as gusty winds and high waves are expected. Thunderstorms can produce sudden waterspouts, which can easily overturn boats and create locally hazardous seas. Seek safe harbor immediately. A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 11:00 PM CDT for the area.
Expected Conditions
Severe thunderstorms capable of producing waterspouts and wind gusts in excess of 65 knots are expected.
Timeline
The alert is effective from 9:04 PM CDT on April 17, 2026, and ends at 11:00 PM CDT on April 17, 2026.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
Related Weather Alerts
All Weather Alerts →Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8
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 (1,312 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (high) notices issued closest in time to April 26, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this NWS weather alert.