Special Marine Warning Issued for Southwestern Lake Michigan
If you are in immediate danger, call emergency services now.
For real-time, official alerts and instructions for your exact location, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia) as applicable. This article is a data summary, not a substitute for the issuing agency's live warning.
Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
NWS Chicago has issued a Special Marine Warning for nearshore and open waters of southwestern Lake Michigan until 2:45 AM CDT due to strong thunderstorms with wind gusts to 40 knots and small hail.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Special Marine Warning
- Affected area
- Southwestern Lake Michigan
- Issued
- August 10, 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. The alert is effective from August 10, 2026 at 12:40 AM CDT until August 10, 2026 at 2:45 AM CDT.
Affected Areas
The warning covers nearshore waters from Winthrop Harbor to Northerly Island IL, open waters from Winthrop Harbor to Michigan City out to Mid Lake, and specifically impacts Wilmette Harbor.
What You Should Do
Move to safe harbor until hazardous weather passes. Small craft could be damaged in briefly higher winds and suddenly higher waves.
Expected Conditions
At 12:39 AM CDT, several clusters of strong thunderstorms were located across southwestern Lake Michigan, moving east at 15 knots. Hazards include wind gusts to 40 knots and small hail.
Timeline
The alert is in effect from 12:40 AM CDT to 2:45 AM CDT on August 10, 2026.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
Related Weather Alerts
All Weather Alerts →Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this NWS weather alert.