Meteorologists are expecting the impact from the storms caused by Hurricane Sandy to be felt all the way to Metro Detroit and along the coastlines of the Great Lakes. The monster hurricane, which extends nearly 500 miles from its center, threatens to affect as many as 50 million people in the Northeast United States.
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The National Weather Service is predicting rain in Metro Detroit through Thursday and has issued gale warnings in anticipation of high storm-related winds. Officials are recommending that vessels seek safe harbor for the duration of the storm. Weather officials predict that Sandy will combine with other storms as it moves into the Great Lakes.
Lake Huron's gale warning will be in effect from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and waves are expected to range between a maximum of 17 and 24 feet, reports the Detroit News.
“Hurricane Sandy is going to merge with a strong upper low over the Eastern U.S., and this is going to make this a very intense storm system,” National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Considine told the Detroit Free Press. "We’re not going to get the heavy rains they’re going to get farther to the east. It’s going to be cold, wind-driven, light rain.”
The weather service has issued a Gale Warning for parts of southern Lake Michigan from 1 p.m. Monday to 4 a.m. Tuesday, with a storm warning in effect until 4 p.m. Tuesday. Waves along Lake Michigan are expected to average between 22 to 25 feet high on Tuesday, with a few isolated waves anticipated to tower as high as 33 feet, the Free Press reports.
A Gale Warning for Southeast Michigan's Lake St. Clair will remain in effect until 8 p.m. Tuesday. Wind gusts could reach up to 50 knots. The largest expected significant waves are predicted to reach 8 feet, although a few could reach a height of 11 feet.
The National Weather Service has also issued a lakeshore flood warning for the eastern Great Lakes from Monday night through Wednesday. WLS-TV reports that a similar flood warning has been issued for Lake Michigan in Chicago from 1 a.m. Tuesday to 4 p.m. Wednesday.
