Lake Michigan

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says an 8-year-old Fort Wayne boy drowned Sunday night in Lake Michigan, in a spot near Michigan City. Around 6 p.m. Martin Perez was swimming with family and friends when he went missing for a period of about 15 minutes, according to the DNR. He was found floating face down near the shoreline. Bystanders performed CPR on the boy and he was transported to St. Anthony Memorial Hospital in Michigan City where officials say he was worked on for nearly an hour before he was pronounced dead.

This video of a waterspout in Lake Michigan just off the coast of South Haven was shot Saturday by viewer Steven Miles.

A 5-year-old boy who was rushed to the hospital after being pulled from the water Sunday night has died. Van Buren County police say the child disappeared at Covert Township Park around 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The boy was later found in Lake Michigan at a private park. He was rushed to an area hospital, but later died. Information provided by WWMT-TV.

This summer's high temperatures and lack of rain are taking a toll. This week Lake Michigan is measuring about 2 feet below average -- nearing record low levels.   Lake Michigan Record Low:     about 576 feet Current Level:  about 577 feet Average Level:  about 579 feet You can't tell from close up, but there are certainly signs that the water levels on Lake Michigan are down -- way down. "I haven't seen the lake levels officially but judging by what I see on the piling wall, I think the water is down over a foot now," says Pete Berghoff, the owner of Dock 63 in St. Joseph, MI. Berghoff can't seem to catch a break.

Record low levels on Lake Michigan have left waterfront communities in the region and throughout the Great Lakes scrambling to save their summer boating seasons. In New Buffalo, for example, an emergency dredge on a roughly 1,000 foot stretch of the Galien River is planned in the spring from the Whittaker St. bridge to the city's public boat launch. Bob Stratton, owner of Service 1 Marine outside New Buffalo, says the water is shallow enough to wonder if large boats will make into their slips without running aground.

FRANKFORT, Mich. (AP) - The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued four boys ages 9 to 13 from rough Lake Michigan waters off the northwestern Lower Peninsula. WGHN reports the boys were swimming Thursday afternoon at Frankfort Beach when they were swept hundreds of yards away from shore while clinging to an inner tube. A parent called 911, and a Coast Guard boat rescued the boys about a half-mile from land. The children weren't injured. Two of the boys were 9, one was 11 and one was 13. The beach is located about 30 miles southwest of Traverse City.

SAUGATUCK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Authorities have recovered the body of one of two swimmers who were swept out into Lake Michigan off Saugatuck Dunes State Park. Authorities tell the Kalamazoo gazette and WZZM-TV the body of 46-year-old Daniel Reed of Redford was found Wednesday. Authorities say he and 22-year-old Brad Stoner of Livonia were swimming Tuesday afternoon off the southwestern Michigan beach when they started struggling in a rip current. The site is in Allegan County's Saugatuck Township, about 35 miles southwest of Grand Rapids.

It was a dangerous afternoon on the shores of Lake Michigan Tuesday as three people had to be pulled from the water. State conservation officers say a 10-year-old boy, 14-year-old girl and 53-year-old woman were rescued after being pulled from shore by rip currents. It happened near the lighthouse pier in Michigan City. All three were taken to the hospital. As of Wednesday morning, the boy was still there. Conservation officers say lifeguards warned swimmers to get out of the water, but some went further down the beach and got back in.

A member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary was walking on the beach when he found the body of a 15-year-old Portage, Indiana boy who disappeared in rip currents while swimming. The boy drowned on  Sunday at the Portage Lakeshore Park, which borders the Ogden Dunes. "Corey McFry was swimming with 3 friends in the 4 foot waves at the Portage Lakeshore Park when McFry either stepped off of the sandbar they were on or was knocked off the bar and went under the water," according to a news release issued late Sunday night.

COVERT TOWNSHIP, Mich. - The owners of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant have some challenges on their hands. First - find out what caused a leak that let nearly 80 gallons of radioactive water into Lake Michigan. The other priority - to soothe the concerns of worried neighbors. Company representatives tried to answer questions during a public meeting Tuesday night. WSBT's Ted Land was there.

VAN BUREN COUNTY --  Michigan Congressman Fred Upton, R- St. Joseph, along with a commissioner from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will head to southwest Michigan today, to get a first-hand look at the troubled Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Van Buren County. The tour comes after news that the plant is again offline -- this time, the plant says a small amount of radioactive water leaked into Lake Michigan. Palisades said last week the leak does not pose a risk to the public or the plant's workers.

VAN BUREN COUNTY, Mich. - Palisades Nuclear Power plant in Covert Township was shut down again over the weekend. On Monday, a federal safety official announced 79 gallons of "very slightly radioactive water" from a leaky tank at the plant spilled into Lake Michigan. But that same official says there's no risk to human health. “The plant is in a safe and secure condition and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been notified. There is no impact on the health and safety of plant employees or the public,” the owners of the plant, Entergy, wrote in a statement.

Michiana summertime fun often includes spending time outdoors at area lakes. They are a big part of our life, and for some, a source of income. "This is the lowest I have seen the lake was last summer with the drought," says Vaughn Nickell of Simonton Lake in Elkhart County, "It's incredible. " Vaughn has lived on Simonton Lake for more than 15 years.  He's also the president of the lake association.  He said during last summer's drought, living on the lake was a nightmare for some neighbors.

MICHIGAN CITY-- Recent rains have created an emergency situation at Karwick Nature Preserve in Michigan City. This area you see used to be a city dump.    The heavy rainfall has eroded parts of the bank and you now see garbage along Trail Creek.  Now,  crews from the Sanitary District of Michigan City are working to fortify the banks in an effort to keep trash from falling into the creek and later, into Lake Michigan. Crews worked Sunday and Monday to address the problem but there is still more to be done.    The sanitary district and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources don't believe any trash has polluted Trail Creek but they are working on a more long-term solution to make sure it stays that way. From a canoe you can get an up close look at what crews are doing to stop dump debris from getting into Trail Creek.    Nets along the edge are designed to catch any loose trash while piles of rocks create a barrier between the bank and the water.

Record low levels on Lake Michigan have left waterfront communities in the region and throughout the Great Lakes scrambling to save their summer boating seasons. In New Buffalo, for example, an emergency dredge on a roughly 1,000 foot stretch of the Galien River is planned in the spring from the Whittaker St. bridge to the city's public boat launch. Bob Stratton, owner of Service 1 Marine outside New Buffalo, says the water is shallow enough to wonder if large boats will make into their slips without running aground.

ST. JOSEPH, Mich. - Massive waves on Lake Michigan drew hundreds of sightseers to Silver Beach in St. Joseph Tuesday. CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY The parking lots were full and beach and pier lined with people as if it were a hot summer day in July. It was a wave watchers paradise. "I think it's awesome. I've never seen Lake Michigan's waves this big," says Lauren Metzger, a St. Joe native, standing on the beach taking pictures of the water with her phone.

Boat owners on Lake Michigan are trying to get their vessels out of their slips and onto land in time for winter, but this year that ritual is especially difficult, because the water level is so low. In some places boats are stuck in mud and sand. Those that are able to move are making it with just inches to spare. “I'm probably 2 inches off the ground,” said Patrick Nelson, who was cleaning his 35 foot sailboat, named Captain Blood, at the St. Joseph West Basin Marina, Tuesday.

This video of a waterspout in Lake Michigan just off the coast of South Haven was shot Saturday by viewer Steven Miles.

This summer's high temperatures and lack of rain are taking a toll. This week Lake Michigan is measuring about 2 feet below average -- nearing record low levels.   Lake Michigan Record Low:     about 576 feet Current Level:  about 577 feet Average Level:  about 579 feet You can't tell from close up, but there are certainly signs that the water levels on Lake Michigan are down -- way down. "I haven't seen the lake levels officially but judging by what I see on the piling wall, I think the water is down over a foot now," says Pete Berghoff, the owner of Dock 63 in St. Joseph, MI. Berghoff can't seem to catch a break.