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With the region under several weather warnings, conservation authority officials are urging residents to be cautious, especially along the Lake Erie shoreline.
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Environment and Climate Change Canada’s marine forecast issued a storm warning and a freezing spray warning for western Lake Erie. There is also a yellow warning for wind in effect.
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On the shoreline, sustained speeds could reach 60 km/h overnight or Monday morning and last throughout the day. Gusts of 80 to 90 km/h are possible.
The wind was howling along the Lake Erie shoreline in Erieau and Erie Beach on Monday.
Winds are then predicted to switch to the northwest on Monday evening and begin dropping off.
Wave forecasts for Lake Erie suggest wave heights of 1.5 to 2.5 m in near-shore areas, with up to four-metre waves on the open lake by Monday afternoon. Temperatures are expected to be below freezing on Monday.
“Water levels on Lake Erie are currently near their long-term average, and in some areas, beaches have now reappeared,” the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority stated in a release.
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“However, due to the predicted wave conditions, there is some risk that wave action could cause erosion and damage along the LTVCA’s Lake Erie shoreline in Chatham-Kent and Elgin County, including along the high-bluff areas.”
Winds forecast to reach up to 90 km/h on Monday sent waves crashing into the lighthouse at the pier in Erieau. PHOTO Ellwood Shreve/Chatham Daily News jpg, CD, apsmc
Where waves can reach the shoreline, there is a risk that the wave spray could freeze and create icy and dangerous conditions.
Excessive amounts of wave spray could cause some localized flooding to shoreline properties, the LTVCA added.
Once winds switch to the west, the risk drops off. Residents are asked to monitor local conditions and be prepared.
“Since Lake St. Clair is frozen over, the wind and wave conditions are not predicted to cause issues on the Lake St. Clair shoreline in the LTVCA jurisdiction,” the release stated.
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