WATCH: Massive Waves Crash Over South Haven Pier During 50+ MPH Wind Storm
We saw some wild weather in West Michigan last weekend (and this week) with super high winds. A drone captured footage of huge waves on Lake Michigan crashing over the South Pier in South Haven on Saturday, Dec. 11.
I was home in South Haven visiting my family over the weekend and we drove down to South Beach, as we usually do, to get a look at magnificent Lake Michigan.
Lots of other people had that idea too, sitting in their cars to check out the action on the big lake in the windy weather. The huge whitecaps were definitely a sight to behold! The high winds actually caused the Black River to flow away from Lake Michigan, forcing waves to roll up the channel, flooding over walkways and splashing up over the guard rails.
Thankfully, everyone that I saw was smart enough to stay off the piers and away from the water. While it is an amazing sight when the waves are that big, it's also a reminder of how powerful and unpredictable Lake Michigan can be.
Later I saw that Timeless Aerial Photography captured footage of the massive waves on Lake Michigan in South Haven that day. They say the wind gusts were more than 50 mph. I think they may have been close to 70 mph! Saugatuck, about 20 miles north of South Haven, reported the strongest wind gusts in the Michigan that day, at 72 mph.
Those high winds did cause damage with more than 146,000 losing power across the state. The winds stemmed from the same storm system that created multiple tornadoes that swept across the midwest and tragically resulted in dozens of deaths in five states. Our hearts and thoughts are with everyone affected by the recent tornados. If you're looking for ways to help, here is a good list from PBS.