High winds and waves on Lake Michigan washed a beacon clear off the pier in Manitowac.

The Ludington-Manitowac ferry will be looking for a new watchtower coming into the Wisconsin harbor as punishing winds created furious waves that knocked a navigational beacon near the South Pier lighthouse into Lake Michigan.

@CubRadio tweeted the news at 8:08am, January 7.

The South Pier Light Navigational Beacon on Lake Michigan in Manitowoc has collapsed. It appears the collapse occurred due to heavy wave action. Heavy rains, & wind gusts up to 30MPH caused the lake to smash water into the structure. The Coast Guard has reportedly been notified.

Manitowac Mayor Justin Nickels retweeted it a couple of hours later and put in his two cents:


The Manitowac area takes abuse year-round as you can see by this thrilling video shot in the Spring of 2012. It almost makes you wonder how these structures stood for this long.

Bonus Video: High Winds Make Big Waves in South Haven

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