MPR’s Jayne Solinger talks with Tom Brown, with the U-S Coast Guard in Duluth, about high waves that caused unusually strong currents in Lake Superior. The dangerous conditions prompted the closing of beaches in Minnesota and Wisconsin for the day.

Brown says the wind-fueled waves on Lake Superior can't technically create riptides, but the results can be similar. Researchers at UMD's Large Lakes Observatory stated high winds caused waves to break close to shore, creating strong currents that pulled swimmers away from the shore.