Boating conditions · today
Lake Michigan (Chicago) Boating Conditions Today
Lake Michigan (Chicago) · Illinois
Lake Michigan (Chicago) · today
NO-GO
NO-GO from 10 am to 11 am for a typical 25 to 35 ft center console: gusts 29 kt. CAUTION (seas 4 ft) until then, and CAUTION again from 11 am (gusts 21 kt and seas 4 ft).
Seas forecast for this hour are 4 ft, past the GO line (3 ft), under the NO-GO line (5 ft).
- Wind15 kt, gusts 18
- SeasCAUTION4 ft
- StormsNone in the forecast
Scored for a typical 25 to 35 ft center console: CAUTION above 15 kt or 3 ft seas, NO-GO above 22 kt or 5 ft seas. Yours is scored on your boat and the limits you set.
Wind
SourceScored on the Weather Service's 10 to 15 kt
Seas
Weather Service Forecast
Weather Service, Wilmette Harbor to Northerly Island IL, issued 9:43 pm: Rest of tonight: East winds 10 to 15 kt becoming south after midnight. Decreasing cloudiness. Waves 2 to 4 ft.
Your Boat, Your Limits
Today’s status for Lake Michigan (Chicago) is for a typical 25 to 35 ft center console. Your briefing scores Lake Michigan (Chicago) against your boat and the limits you set, hour by hour, and gives you GO, CAUTION or NO-GO with the key factors behind it.
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What Drives the Day on the Water
Wind (sustained and gusts) is the single biggest driver of a rough, wet ride and of a Small Craft Advisory. Seas (wave height plus period: a short, steep 4 ft chop beats you up worse than a long 4 ft swell). Fog (losing the shoreline and other traffic is a real hazard under way). Lightning (thunderstorms on an open boat are a reason to stay in). These are read live from official marine forecasts, nearby buoys, and modeled swell, and refresh through the day.