Wave Information Study

Updates/Changes

IMPORTANT NOTICE
WIS Users - Great Lakes: All

• July 2024:
  - 2023 Hindcast has been uploaded. Nearshore stations should have the full complement from 1979-2023.
  - Some small data gaps have been identified and will be resolved.
• September 2023: 2022 Hindcast has been uploaded. Nearshore stations should have the full complement from 1979-2022.
• March 2023: 2021 Hindcast has been uploaded.

Older updates

• 12/17/2015: The Wave Information Study completed wave model simulations of extreme storm events occurring prior to 1979. The selection of these events was based on recent Federal Emergency Management Agency's Region V updates to their Flood Map Services conducted in all five Great Lakes (noted in an earlier Announcement). In some instances individual storm events may overlap in time. If these events represent the highest wave height conditions the storm extreme analyses will become contaminated. This will affect the Extreme Tables and Extreme Graphic products. Duplicate conditions will occur as shown below for Lake Superior where the second through fourth events are identical.
  We are working on rectifying this problem, and replacing ALL extreme analysis results, for ALL Great Lakes domains. An announcement will be posted when this work has been completed.
• 07/21/2015: The Wave Information Study completed wave model simulations of extreme storm events occurring prior to 1979. The selection of these events was based on recent Federal Emergency Management Agency's Region V updates to their Flood Map Services conducted in all five Great Lakes. Wind fields used in the simulations were developed from a Natural Neighbor Method (Schwab, 1978; Schwab et al. 1984, 1998). Natural Neighbor Method is based on point-source meteorological measurements to produce spatial and time varying wind speeds. The wave model (WAMCy4.5.1, Komen et al. 1994) was used for the wave simulations, using the same options and grid as in the case of the WIS continuous hindcast.
  
  Individual extreme storm events (Table 1) were defined for twelve day duration; a nine-day initialization period (determined by the hydrodynamic modeling needs), one day encompassing the storm peak, and two day decay cycle.
  
  Table 1. Extreme Storm Events Selected for the Great Lakes

  LAKE	Start Year	End Year	Total Record Length*	Number of Storms
  Superior	1960	1978	54	47
  Michigan	1960	1978	54	57
  Huron	1961	1978	53	38
  Erie	1960	1978	54	63
  Ontario	1970	1978	44	50
  * Total Record Length is the combination of the pre-1979 Storm Event start date and the WIS Great Lakes Hindcast (1979-2013)

  
  Hourly wave height estimates for each storm simulation is provided in a zipped file and can be accessed via the individual station page. The Extreme Analysis Table and Extreme Analysis Plot (Return Period) reflect the added storm population based on the defined FEMA Extreme Storm Events.