The Great Lakes Current Incident Database was created in 2002 when the Mackinac Water Safety Review Team and a forecaster from a nearby National Weather Service office began to investigate what conditions cause dangerous current formation in the Great Lakes. Researchers gathered data on wave and weather conditions, and victim demographics to further their understanding of dangerous current formation to the extent that NWS staff could begin to forecast their occurrence and alert the general public on high-risk days.

Data collected since 2002 has been placed in an interactive website that allows users to search current-related incidents by lake, year, or type of dangerous current. This database is updated regularly. Caveats and limitations of the data can be found in the Great Lakes Current Incident Database Users Guide

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