PlainHazard

Seiche

NOAA Storm Events type · 76 records since 1998 · 12 states and territories

The National Weather Service defines seiche as: "A standing-wave oscillation in any enclosed lake that continues after a forcing mechanism has ceased and results in shoreline flooding and/or damage." NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 76 seiche records from 1998 through June 30, 2026, the most in New York (30).

How the National Weather Service files seiche

A standing-wave oscillation in any enclosed lake that continues after a forcing mechanism has ceased and results in shoreline flooding and/or damage. In the Great Lakes and large inland lakes, large pressure differences, high winds, or fast-moving squall lines may act as the forcing mechanism.
National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605, Storm Data Preparation (July 26, 2021), Appendix A, entry 41

Source: National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605. Read the instruction (PDF).

Seiche, 1998 to 2026

Records per year (2026 to June 30, 2026).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $10 million
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • $10 billion or more, or 1,000 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
761998 to June 30, 2026
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$2.3Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Counties with a record
32of 3,266

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026. Search the record at NCEI.

Where do seiche records happen?

States

  1. New York 30
  2. Michigan 17
  3. Wisconsin 8
  4. Louisiana 5
  5. Ohio 4
  6. Illinois 4
  7. Indiana 2
  8. American Samoa 2
  9. Texas 1
  10. Puerto Rico 1
  11. Florida 1
  12. Alaska 1

Counties

  1. Erie County, NY 21
  2. Chautauqua County, NY 8
  3. Winnebago County, WI 4
  4. Cook County, IL 4
  5. Alger County, MI 3
  6. Cameron Parish, LA 3
  7. Manu'a District, AS 2
  8. Calumet County, WI 2
  9. Marquette County, MI 2
  10. Chippewa County, MI 2

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

When do seiche records happen?

The busiest month is November.

The values, month by month

Jan 9 · Feb 1 · Mar 4 · Apr 1 · May 13 · Jun 7 · Jul 6 · Aug 8 · Sep 2 · Oct 0 · Nov 16 · Dec 9 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

The most recent seiche records

To June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-06-21 SeicheChippewa County, MI · forecast zone Central Chippewa County 0 0 –
2025-06-21 SeicheChippewa County, MI · forecast zone Western Chippewa County 0 0 –
1999-02-03 SeicheDutch Harbor, Anchorage Municipality, AK 0 0 $1.3M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

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