Tuesday 30 December 2025 15:27 GMT
Neil Wakeman, a Luna Pier city council member, holds up a steering wheel as he and friends look over a car that is normally submerged in roughly eight feet of water, about 100 yards off the beach in Luna Pier, Mich., Monday, Dec. 29, 2025 (Andy Morrison/Detroit News via AP)Extreme winds caused a seiche on Lake Erie, leading to significant flooding in Buffalo, New York, and a dramatic drop in water levels at the other end of the lake. Winds in the Buffalo area reached speeds of 35 to 45 mph, with gusts up to 75-80 mph, pushing water across the 225-mile-long lake. On Monday, Lake Erie’s water level rose by over six feet in Buffalo, while simultaneously dropping by approximately 13 feet in Toledo, Ohio, resulting in an almost eight-foot difference across the lake. Meteorologists explained the seiche as wind pressure ‘sloshing’ water, exposing the lakebed on one side and causing flooding on the other. The National Weather Service issued high wind and lakeshore flood warnings for the region, which is also experiencing a significant snowstorm and extreme winter weather. In full