Great Lakes Observing System

08/28/2026

This weekend is looking to be hot! Time to head to your favorite spot by the lake and cool down.

Seagull Coast - your new Great Lakes safety companion - makes it easy to check in on your favorite location. Drop a custom pin anywhere on the map, save it to Favorites, and it’s always there when you need it.

Seagull Coast does the work behind the scenes - bringing together the best available data for your location: water temperature from the nearest platform, wind from another nearby source, and when observations aren’t available, model nowcasts fill the gap.

Download Seagull Coast:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/seagull-coast/id6755694594
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.seagullcoast.app

Learn more: https://glos.org/seagull-coast/
Contact us: [email protected]

08/27/2026

Congratulations to August’s Great Lakes Photo Contest winner - Charles K.!

Charles’ photo, titled “Ship on Lake Erie”, captured a calm but dramatic light coming from behind a lit tanker ship, at Port Colborne, Ontario.

Thank you to all who submitted your photos in August. Make sure to share your photos to be considered in September’s contest!

See our website for contest details and guidelines:
glos.org/glos-great-lakes-photo-contest/

08/27/2026

Happy !

Here in the Great Lakes region, every day is lake day! However, we never turn down an opportunity to celebrate these awesome wonders a little extra, especially in the midst of . There are so many things that make the Laurentian Great Lakes special, the recreation, the biodiversity, the drinking water, and the peaceful sights and sounds - to name a few.

Take a moment to celebrate and thank your favorite lake today. If you are going to visit one of the Great Lakes, check real-time conditions on seagull.glos.org or on Seagull Coast.

08/24/2026

What: High waves and winds
When: Yesterday - Sunday, June 23, 2026
Where: Northern Lake Michigan
Reporting sources: Joe Smith - Cyberinfrastructure Engineer, GLOS

Other resources:
•National Weather Service Beach Hazards Statement: https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/Forecasts/FZUS53.KGRR.html
•Beach Hazards Statement: https://www.weather.gov/greatlakes/beachhazards
•Seagull: 45022 Little Traverse Bay Buoy: https://seagull.glos.org/data-console/61/parameter/473
https://seagull.glos.org/data-console/61/parameter/469

Late night Sunday, August 23rd, into early AM on Monday, August 24th, high waves and significant wind gusts were experienced on northern Lake Michigan after a storm system came across the region. Video captured by Joe Smith shows the choppy water from the shoreline between Charlevoix and Petoskey, MI. Check out Little Traverse Bay Buoy - 45022 - to see the data.

If you want to track conditions in and near the Great Lakes outside of your standard weather map, check out GLOS’s seagull.app, or seagull.glos.org .

08/24/2026

New wave monitoring buoys in lower Green Bay offer real-time weather data to help boaters and emergency crews stay safe. See link below ⬇️

📸 NEW Water, the brand of the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District

08/21/2026

The Chicago Triathlon is this weekend - August 22-23. Athletes will be running and biking along the beautiful lakeshore and swimming in Lake Michigan.

Seagull Coast provides insights on lake conditions, giving access to real-time water temperatures and wave and wind information from nearby buoys just off Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive and Lakefront Trail. Chicago Park District’s Buoy 45177 sits right off of Ohio St Beach and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Purdue University’s Chicago Pier Buoy sits outside of the breakwater and features a we**am displaying video and images from out on the lake.

Download the app today and better understand what may be coming before sprinting into the water:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/seagull-coast/id6755694594
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.seagullcoast.app

Learn more: https://glos.org/seagull-coast/
Contact us: [email protected]

08/18/2026

Registration for the next Smart Great Lakes 2.0 Workshop is now open!

The October workshop will be held at the University of Michigan Detroit Center in Detroit, MI, to establish a renewed shared purpose and examine the major forces reshaping observing and information systems in the Great Lakes region.

We are looking forward to continuing to build the next phase of Smart Great Lakes!
https://smartgreatlakes.org/sgl-2-0-workshop/

08/18/2026

We are less than a month away from the Lakebed 2030 Conference!

The conference program and schedule have recently been updated, and we have new conference sponsors! Check it all out and get registered for a great gathering focused on all things Great Lakes mapping, in Traverse City, MI: https://www.nmc.edu/marine-center/lakebed-2030-conference.html

https://glos.org/lakebed-2030/lakebed-2030-conference/

08/18/2026