Accurate and site-specific forecasts can be a key factor in helping inform boaters, fishers, and swimmers as they make recreational choices with safety in mind. Buoys are equipped with sensitive scientific instruments that can help weather forecasters as well as scientists, managers, recreational water users, and local community members understand Lake Michigan—how the lake looks today and how it will fare in the future.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant has three buoys in the nearshore waters of southern Lake Michigan—near Michigan City, Indiana since 2011, near Wilmette, Illinois since 2015 and in 2022, and a buoy was deployed in the waters near Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. This latest buoy provides water and weather data for the largest system of harbors and boats in the country—the Chicago Park District has accommodations for 6,000 boats.

In addition to aiding National Weather Service forecasting, our buoys are used daily (or even more frequently) by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Lake Michigan office to plan safe field sampling. DNR also communicates buoy data to anglers, both wave conditions and water temperature at depth, critical in deciding how deep to begin fishing, especially for perch and salmon. Buoy water temperature data is typically included in DNR weekly fishing reports, used by thousands of anglers.