TOLEDO, Ohio — The summer months are filled with sunshine and hot temperatures, but recently, they have also been filled with tornado outbreaks, high winds and plenty of storms.
Sometimes, those storms aren't always on land. Paul Lis, the captain of the Glass City Pearl, has been on the water when the weather hasn't been ideal.
"If we're out on the water in severe weather comes, we kind of fall back on our years of experience and training that we got when we got our merchant mariners credentials from the Coast Guard," Lis said.
While not all boats may have dual radar systems, bigger boats like the Glass City Pearl have them on board to track exactly where the storms are and what directions to avoid. But if they can't steer away from those storms they do have plans in place to seek shelter.
The rain isn't much of a concern when it comes to storms on Lake Erie, but the wind can have a crucial impact on your boat and safety, Lis said.
"The way the wind affects the water and waves is, as the longer the distance or the more time it has to build, the bigger the wave's going to be," Lis said.
"So here, locally, for us on the western end of Lake Erie, if we have things like an easterly wind or a northeasterly wind, that allows that wind to travel from one end of the lake to the other so by the time those waves get here, they've had a chance to build bigger and bigger."
If you're on a smaller boat, you need to pay extra attention to which way you're heading during a storm.
"You don't want to be in what they call the trough, so you don't want the wind and waves coming directly at your side. That's going to be when it's the easiest for the boat to roll over or capsize," he said.
Lis said that you should always have a plan before heading out on the water, even if everything looks to be in the clear.
"Prevention is always best," Lis said. "As all know, Mother Nature changes the mind at any given time. But keeping vigilant on that, keep your eye on the horizon and in the sky and you start to see clouds build, becoming familiar with what kind of cloud pattern produces what kind of weather and react immediately.”
Before you hit the water this summer, make sure to check the WTOL 11 Weather app for your daily Boater's Forecast.