Chicago Summer in the City: Lake Michigan’s Stormy Beauty

There is nothing I find more relaxing that the sound of a gentle surf hitting the shore. Though I lived fairly near the Atlantic Ocean growing up in a northern suburb of New York City and then in my adult life in Washington, D.C., it wasn’t close enough to make a habit of visiting, and the long drives to get there were anything but relaxing. So stumbling into an apartment when we moved to Chicago last year that is just yards from Lake Michigan was truly fortunate, and I take every opportunity I can to sit on a pier or nearby beach to take it all in.

But there is the other side to this Great Lake, the one we are experiencing today, a much-needed rainy day in what has been a very dry spring in Chicago. Peaceful, it isn’t, but it is pretty amazing to watch.

As you can see, when the waves hit the serrated breakwall with sufficient force, it creates natural geysers that put Grant Park’s Buckingham Fountain (beautiful though it is) to shame.

The fact that these natural wonders are occurring within the shadows of the downtown skyscrapers is the ultimate hat tip to the founders and planners of this city, who had the foresight to preserve virtually the entire lakefront as open public space.

More photos below. The rain today was ushered in by a cold front. You never know with Chicago weather, but even so, the dropoff from record high temperatures of 97 on Sunday and 94 on Monday to 50 three days later is a bit extreme. Yet even though June is coming in like one of these cats at the Lincoln Park Zoo…

… it’s supposed to be back up well into the 80s next week.

And it’s not like we don’t need the rain, as this cracked earth in Lincoln Park near Belmont Harbor this morning underscores.

The preciptation for the year so far is 8.8 inches, or 5.5 inches below average. Through yesterday (May 30), rainfall for the month was just more than 2 inches or about half the normal rate. So bring it on. Better on Thursday than Saturday!