What forces create rip currents in the Great Lakes?
The best Great Lakes bathing beaches are rich in sand. These beaches also have very well developed nearshore sand bars. These sand bars channel strong wave-generated and wind-generated currents along the shoreline between the bars. This intense flow can rip through the bar system to flow offshore. According to research conducted by Guy Meadows, University of Michigan professor and director of the UM Ocean Engineering Laboratory, a 2 to 3 foot breaking wave on a Great Lakes beach can create a much stronger rip current than a similar wave on a southern California beach. Contact Meadows at (734)764-5235 or gmeadows@engin.umich.edu. What do Great Lakes water levels have to do with the danger of rip currents? During low water years the offshore portion of the underwater beach becomes steeper. This allows larger waves to reach the beach and create conditions conducive to the formation of rip currents. Recent low Great Lakes water levels may have intensified the effects of the wind- and wave-
