Spring winds can still blow strong, with winds of 28 knots or more encountered about 4 to 8 percent of the time. Strong winds are infrequent in summer and mostly associated with thunderstorms. Coastal winds are more localized and variable. Along the Michigan shore, spring winds are variable, particularly in the morning, when northerlies, easterlies, and southerlies are among the most common. By afternoon, aided by a lake-breeze effect, there are a preponderance of winds out of the S, particularly with the approach of summer.
Summer also brings a slackening of windspeeds.
May. The most likely cause of strong winds in spring and summer are thunderstorm gusts. By summer, windspeeds of 28 knots or more occur less than 4 percent of the time and less than 2 percent most of the time. Summer winds along the shore are usually out of the E through S during the morning hours, swinging to the S and NW by afternoon, with an increase in speed. By October, there is a noticeable increase in windspeeds. Speeds of 28 knots or more increase to 4 to 6 percent.