While Wednesday brought intense winds and waves, weather conditions are expected to be milder today, as gale warnings and lakeshore flood advisories for the area have expired, with small craft advisories for the shoreline in effect until roughly midday today, according to the National Weather Service office in Negaunee Township.

“Today we should actually see conditions calming as this frontal system moves out east,” said Taylor Prislovsky, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Negaunee.

The stretch of Lakeshore Boulevard from Hawley Street to Fair Avenue, which was closed starting around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday due to high waves and lakeshore flooding, remains closed as of this morning.

“There was flooding on the road, there were rocks on the road, there were trees that have come down, so there’s going to be a lot of clean-up,” said Melissa Erkkila, administrative assistant for Marquette’s Public Works Department.

Waves crash along the shore near Lakeshore Boulevard in Marquette Wednesday. The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for Marquette County, with waves predicted to reach up to 12 feet and higher. (Journal photo by Corey Kelly)

The timing of its reopening is uncertain at this point, but an announcement will be made when it is open again, city officials said.

Hazardous conditions presented by Lake Superior wave action was the reason for the closures at Presque Isle, which began just before 2 p.m. Wednesday according to city officials.

Marquette Fire City Chief Ian Davis went to inspect Presque Isle Park around 12:45 p.m. due to the gale warning issued by the National Weather Service and found “there were waves cresting over Black Rocks.”

This was a major safety concern, city officials said, due to the risk of people being swept off of Black Rocks by the high waves.

“Those waves are crashing over the Black Rocks area and that’s really posing a hazard to anyone that might in be that area,” Jon Swenson, Marquette’s Community Services director, said Wednesday. “So we took the precautionary step of closing the park and would like the public to avoid the area for the remainder of the day.”

Gales coming from the north or northeast — as the gale was Wednesday — blow directly into the Black Rocks area, creating high waves, Davis said.

It’s important to exercise caution near the lake with gales, Swenson said, as “Lake Superior can be extremely dangerous when it has high wave conditions.”

“These are similar conditions to the conditions we had Oct. 24, 2017, when we lost two people at the Black Rocks area and another was swept into the lake, so we’re doing this in an effort to keep the public safe.”

The NWS said waves up to 12 feet and higher were expected to impact the Lake Superior shoreline from near the city of Marquette eastward to Grand Marais, and that north winds frequently gusting at 30 to 40 mph were to linger throughout the day.

The highest wave conditions in the Marquette area occurred around midday Wednesday, with waves reaching at the “very least 10 feet and possibly up to 14-15 feet at some points,” Prislovsky said.

Winds were also high at this time, Prislovsky said, with sustained wind speeds of 20 to 25 miles per an hour and gusts a little under 30 miles mph.

The high wind and wave conditions began between 2 a.m and 3 a.m. Wednesday in the Marquette area, he said. The maximum sustained winds around the city of Marquette, which were a little under 30 mph, were reached between 7 a.m and 8 a.m Wednesday, with gusts up to 35 mph.

A lakeshore flood advisory was effect until 8 p.m. Wednesday for Marquette, Alger and Luce counties, according to the National Weather Service. Gale warnings were also in effect for much of the Upper Peninsula’s shorelines.

A small craft advisory for the Huron Islands to Marquette remains in effect until 11 a.m., while a small craft advisory for Lake Superior from Marquette to Whitefish Point remains in effect until 2 p.m. today, as there could be sustained winds of 20 knots from the north, with gusts up to 26 knots.

Cecilia Brown can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248. Her email address is cbrown@miningjournal.net.