"LUNA PIER, Mich. (WXYZ) — Strong winds from a winter storm created a somewhat rare weather phenomenon on Lake Erie this week, pushing water eastward and exposing miles of lake bed along western shorelines in Michigan and Ohio.
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The seiche, pronounced "say-sh," occurred on Monday as cold air and low pressure moved quickly into Southeast Michigan. The powerful winds essentially pushed water from the western end of the lake to the eastern end, revealing underwater secrets that had been hidden for decades.
" ....the group walked roughly a quarter mile from the normal shoreline, uncovering remarkable finds along the exposed lake bed in what would normally be 10-12 feet of water. Among the discoveries was a car axle from a Volkswagen that Lada says fell through the ice in 1969."
"...The group also found an unidentified class ring that Lada said appears to have been underwater for more than six decades.....Another discovery was a snowmobile covered in zebra mussels. The owner had fallen through the ice two years ago, and his friend was also searching for it during the seiche. The friend, CJ Witfoth, successfully retrieved the snowmobile and plans to try and have it restored."
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"Amazing, something I ain't never seen before. Being from South Carolina, we don't get to see this often," Hill said.
Scarlett Hill, visiting from South Carolina, described the experience as remarkable. It's a sure bet that Scarlett uses the term 'y'all'.
On Monday, winds gusting up to 80 mph blew across Lake Erie for several hours, pushing enormous amounts of water toward the eastern end of the lake. In Buffalo, New York, water levels surged by nearly 8 feet, flooding shorelines and producing freezing spray as waves crashed ashore in subfreezing air. Meanwhile, 225 miles away on the western end of the lake, Toledo, Ohio, experienced the opposite effect.
As water was forced east, Lake Erie’s western basin was essentially drained. Water levels dropped by about 6 feet, exposing bare lakebed and revealing shipwrecks typically hidden beneath the water. That's a net difference of roughly 13 feet from one end of the lake to the other.
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