The June 26, 1954 Seiche in Chicago

Dear Tom,
I remember back in the 1950s when several fisherman perished in a seiche. Can you
provide some information on this?
Kathleen Madden, Chicago

Dear Kathleen,
It was back on June 26, 1954 when a killer 8-10 foot wall of water called a seiche
(pronounced saysh) swept eight unsuspecting fishermen off the Montrose Harbor pier
to their deaths. The seiche was caused by an outflow of cold air rushing out of a
fast-moving line of thunderstorms speeding southeast across southern Lake Michigan
in excess of 60 m.p.h. The cold outflow caused a rapid rise in air pressure that pushed
a slowly-building bulge of water toward the southeast shore of the lake. As a result,
water levels dropped on the Chicago shore and rose on the Michigan/Indiana side. The
surge then moved back to the Chicago shore as a large wave, taking nearly 90 minutes
to make the return trip.