Rip currents form as incoming waves create an underwater sandbar close to shore (#1 above), and the waves push more and m o re water in between the sandbar and the shore (#2) until a section of this sandbar collapses and the water rushes back toward the open water (#3) through a narrow gap.

Water density - changes in temperature cause the water to rise or fall.

This causes a build-up in water level along the down-wind shore. Though waves do cause the surface water to move, the idea that waves are travelling bodies of water is misleading. Human Sources There are many natural and synthetic (human produced) surfactant molecules. Warm rising and cold sinking waters are what drive the ocean currents, and the same can take place in a lake, particularly in the fall or spring months.

The temporary rise in water level may also be called a storm set-up, wind set-up, storm-induced rise, or storm rise.

Wind Speed: The speed of the wind will affect the size of the waves; the faster the wind, the larger the wave, as more of those ripples will be rumbling and cycling over one another. While ripples are unable to overcome the force of surface tension, waves can build up enough energy to do so if the wind blows steadily over a large enough patch of water. Waves are actually energy passing through the water, causing it to move in a circular motion. Storm surges occur on ocean coasts as well as on Great Lakes coasts. Foam is produced as air, introduced in the turbulence of stream riffles, below waterfalls, or as waves break upon the shore, bubbles to the water surface. Many of the deadliest have occurred on Lake Michigan, but Lakes Superior, Huron and Erie have also experienced them. Such waves will always flow in the same direction as the wind, and will shift direction if the wind changes. The image below shows an extreme storm surge in the southern end of Green Bay at the City of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Also, if you have waters entering the lake that have significantly different temperatures or chemistry, then currents would flow to take the more dense water deeper and less … When they get close to the shore, as the space between the water’s surface and the sea/ocean floor gets smaller, the waves are “pushed up” some, eventually creating breakers! In a sea or ocean, you can get large waves built up. Waves are dependent on three major factors – wind speed, wind time and wind distance.

Waves are caused mainly by wind.Big lakes can have waves too but usually lakes are too sheltered and small for the wind to have a great enough effect to cause waves. In the last century, about 10 major waves have hit the shores of the Great Lakes, but smaller anomalous waves occur much more frequently.
As the names imply…. Severe and deadly seiche events are rare on the Great Lakes.
In addition to the June 26, 1954, event, some others were: You can also see this happen in miniature at the edge of a pond or lake where the water comes up in a similar way. Rip currents can occur at any beach with breaking waves, including Great Lakes beaches. Beach waves (breakers) are caused when a wave coming from further out to sea enters shallow water, they slow down, become taller and eventually break on the shore.