Wind, waves and wipeouts: Surfing adventures on America’s ‘third coast,’ the Great Lakes

Many don't know the The Great Lakes region of the United States is often called the "Third Coast" and when the conditions are just right, some take to the waves to surf.

Between "Baywatch," "90210" and "The O.C." in Southern California, and shows like "Siesta Key" in Florida, the gnarly and totally tubular surfing life on the Pacific and the Atlantic gets plenty of love. But what many don't know is that the United States has a "third coast," the Great Lakes region of the United States. When the conditions are just right, some even take to the waves and surf exactly like their warm-weather counterparts.

One of those surfers is David Benjamin, co-founder and executive director of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. Benjamin told AccuWeather that he started the project because of some scary surfing experiences he had on Lake Michigan.

A surfer with decades on his board, Benjamin said he experienced his first bad wipeout, got pushed to the bottom, and nearly drowned. Luckily, his winter wetsuit provided enough floatation for him to make it back to shore.

"Wind across the water, these big bodies of water, can create waves, and these waves can create several types of dangerous currents," he said.

A Great Lakes primer

The five Great Lakes of North America touch eight states and are the largest group of freshwater lakes on the planet by total area (more than 94,000 square miles), covering 21 percent of the world's surface fresh water by volume.

Much of the midwestern United States is marked by a humid continental climate, with warm summers and thunderstorms and cold and snowy winters. Cities like Chicago, Buffalo, Cleveland and Milwaukee contend with a clash of many types of weather from multiple directions, including cold Arctic systems from the north, wet tropical systems from the south and the notorious lake-effect snow.

Because of these forces, while most people associate surfing with warm weather, Great Lakes surfing requires a different alchemy: potent wind. While the temperature difference between the surface of the water and the air above it has some impact on wave heights, this is nothing unique to the Great Lakes, said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Benz.

"What makes the Great Lakes unique at making quality waves compared to other large bodies of freshwater in the world is their location and their shape," he explained.

Benz says that in the summer months, the jet stream and the storm track are farther north across North America, and with scant arctic air, areas of low pressure don't deepen the way they do in the fall or winter months. Translation: There is much less wind and much less wave action.

The cooler months of fall, winter and spring bring different conditions. "The storm track is farther south and, with much colder air in the pattern, areas of low pressure can rapidly deepen, generating a stronger and more widespread wind field when compared to the summer months," Benz said. "The Great Lakes sit in a sweet spot in the Northern Hemisphere where storms frequently race across the region which helps to sustain long periods of wind which, in turn, drives wave action compared to larger bodies of water that are closer to the equator."

During these high-wind events in states like Michigan, Ohio and New York, surfing becomes a ticking time bomb experience. First, surfers paddle out in choppy waters, contending with strong onshore winds and brief periods of waves. And in these freshwater lakes, it's a lot harder to float, so surfers tend to pick wider and thicker surfboards, according to Surfer Today.

Benz added that it can be downright cold for surfers, too. In the winter, if the water is still open, water temperatures may only hover a few degrees above freezing, with air temperatures well below that. "Proper equipment is a must in order to survive in these frigid conditions," he adds.

The danger and allure of the Great Lakes

Benjamin's Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project keeps a sobering tally of what can go wrong on the water. More than 1,300 people have drowned in the Great Lakes since 2010, with 71 this year. Lake Michigan has accounted for 39 deaths this year alone, according to their numbers.

Even the most seasoned swimmers get taken by surprise, Benjamin said. His own near-drowning experience happened at the age of 40, with more than three decades of ocean swimming and SCUBA experience under his belt. "I had never been in trouble in the water. I had a bad wipeout, the leash didn't hold, it was in the wintertime, I inhaled a little bit of water and I got pushed to the bottom and I immediately panicked."

Panic is the first stage of drowning, Benjamin warned

"When you're in a moment of panic, all of your experience is out the window. If your instinct is to fight to survive you're going to exhaust yourself pretty quickly." Benjamin explained. "In an emergency situation, people have the natural tendency to panic first. So if you're ever struggling in water over your head, we advocate that you flip, float, and follow."

Surfing spots can be found in all of the Great Lakes, from as far west as Stoney Point on Lake Superior in Minnesota, to Sodus Point, New York, near Rochester along Lake Ontario.

The first reported Great Lakes surfers hit Lake Erie in Buffalo, New York, in the 1960s, according to The New York Times. Others created a similar scene on Lake Michigan in the '60s, especially in Grand Haven and Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Great Lakes surfers regularly flock to Lake Superior, where intense wind gusts can create the perfect conditions.