Milwaukee County Beaches

today’s weather forecast

NOAA point forecast

Daily weather forecasts are provided by the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS).

other warnings & advisories

This box includes any small craft advisories, hazardous weather conditions, rip current warnings and other special warning and advisories. The information comes from the NWS Watches, Warnings & Advisories page.

today's nearshore forecast

nearshore wave conditions

Daily forecasted wave heights are provided by the National Weather Service Nearshore Marine Forecast for waves within five nautical miles from the shore of Lake Michigan.

Note that waves grow taller as they move into shallow waters.

water temperature

Direct surface water temperature measurements from the Milwaukee County Beaches are not available at this time.

breakwater gauge

This weather station is located at 43.046 N 87.879 W which is on the McKinley breakwater, just south of Bradford beach. It is owned and operated by the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory as a C-MAN station. It is designated as Station MLWW3 – Milwaukee, WI.

See https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=mlww3 for more station details.

today's air quality

The Air Quality Index (AQI) for Milwaukee County Beaches comes from the AirNow.gov website, a partnership of the USEPA, NOAA, NASA, CDC, and other agencies. The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you.

uv index forecast

The UV index forecast for Milwaukee County Beaches comes from the USEPA EnviroFACTS website. Ultraviolet light is produced by the sun and can cause health problems. The UV index provides a gage for understanding the amount of ultraviolet radiation predicted to reach a particular place on Earth at solar noon. More information about the UV index, access to the UV index for other parts of the country, and sun safety tips are available at EnviroFACTS website.

bacterial monitoring

Bacteria monitoring occurs throughout the summer on nine beaches in the Milwaukee County system:

• Atwater Park Beach
• Bay View Park Beach
• Bender Beach
• Bradford Beach
• Grant Park Beach
• Klode Park Beach
• McKinley Beach
• South Shore Beach
• Tietjen Beach / Doctor's Park Beach
  

Reasons for Swim Advisories or Beach Closures

In order to alert the public about potentially unhealthy water quality conditions at Great Lakes beaches, local health departments sometimes post swim advisories. Depending on the severity of conditions, or if there are other safety concerns such as high waves, beaches may be closed. In Wisconsin, cities and counties that receive federal funding for beach monitoring and notification under the BEACH Act are required to report their advisories and closures through the Wisconsin Beach Health Website. On this website you can find all current beach advisories and water quality data. You can also sign-up for advisory email alerts or RSS feeds.

Beginning in 2012, notifications made through the Wisconsin Beach Health Website, email alerts, and RSS feeds will include the principal reason reported for any swim advisory or closure.