Andrei_WX's Blog

Strong thunderstorms on the other side of Lake Michigan around St. Joseph harbor caused a seiche with waves along the eastern shore more than 15 feet. This resulted in a drop in levels on the eastern side of the lake earlier this afternoon around 3:30pm causing the levels on our side of the lake to rise as much as 2 feet. The storms that moved over Lake Michigan died out. Downdrafts from the storm caused waves to ripple toward the lake shores. This causes an oscillation and drop in levels for several hours. The best example is in a bathtub when you a rush of water on one side of the tube causes a seesaw effect. The link below best describes a seiche.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiche