What are Lake Breezes?
As residents of northern Michigan know, a beach along one of the Great Lakes is a great place to go if you want to escape the summer heat. In addition to swimming, the refreshing breezes often present at the lake shore help to provide relief from the heat. In the summer, it is not uncommon for temperatures at the lake shore to be around 80, while temperatures farther inland soar into the 90s. We can thank “lake breezes” for these cooler temperatures. Lake breezes develop when the land becomes warmer than the water. The warm air over land rises, and gets replaced by the relatively cool air which resides immediately above the lake surface. You can tell when a lake breeze forms when the wind abruptly becomes “onshore” (blowing from the water toward the shore). Lake breezes generally form several hours after sunrise, and have speeds of around 10 mph. Lake breezes generally dissipate in the early evening as the sun begins to set. The spring and summer are the most common times of year for l
