MILWAUKEE – When you’re out on the lake, weather can change in a matter of minutes.
That’s why Peter Jensen, the leader at the Wisconsin Incident Management Team, says it’s important to know the full forecast before hitting the water.
“Because if something happens, emergency responders are not necessarily going to be able to reach you in time for these types of events,” Jensen said.
He remembers the straight line winds of August 2021 very vividly – an event where winds hit 81 miles per hour on Eagle Spring Lake.
“Obviously the weather came in to a very localized area around Eagle Spring Lake. We had a considerable amount of structural damage to homes around here,” he said.
“The thing that sticks out most in my mind is that this was a forecasted event that we knew was coming. There were warnings that were coming on out, and we had people who were canoeing and kayaking out on the lake as far as ten minutes before the event occurred,” Jensen said.
If you’re on the lake and the weather starts to change, Jensen says it’s more important to listen with your ears than it is to look for things with your eyes.
“If you can hear it then that storm is coming very close to you, it’s going to be upon you and you need to take safety precautions as soon as you possibly can.”
The main precaution you can take is getting to shore as quickly as possible.
“You need to get to shore as quickly as you possibly can. Any point on shore is going to be better than trying to make it back to a boat launch that might be crowded.”
You can listen to the entire interview with Peter Jensen in the player at the top of the page.
