New York Sea Grant, the Town of Evans, and the Lake Erie Watershed Protection Alliance will host a seiche-event preparedness meeting on October 17. The meeting is intended to assist shoreline property owners, municipal leaders, and natural resource managers in increasing their preparedness for dealing with potential seiche-caused coastal flooding and property damage. The meeting will be held from 6-8 pm at the Lake Erie Beach Volunteer Fire Hall, 9483 Lake Shore Rd., Angola, NY.
According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, five of the top 10 recorded seiches on Lake Erie have occurred near Buffalo since 2019. Being the shallowest of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie is more susceptible to seiches — standing waves that affect the Western New York shoreline with significant force. Decreased winter ice conditions and more severe wind events in the winter season have made seiche events more common.
Roy Widrig, New York Sea Grant Coastal Processes and Hazards specialist and co-author of a "Seiche Events on Lake Erie" Fact Sheet will host the meeting. Retired Buffalo Meteorologist Judith Levan and Widrig will present information on seiche forecasting, shoreline changes from seiche events, and how to manage shoreline erosion and flooding.
To register and for more information, visit https://bit.ly/shorelinepreparednessworkshop1024 or call 315-312-3042.