MILWAUKEE — It snowed about six to eight inches in Milwaukee from Monday into Tuesday. The wind was blowing up to 30 miles per hour. It was frigid outside. However, none of that stopped one Milwaukee man from going surfing during a snowstorm.
“Obviously, I’m a little cold. Just kind of excited to try and get out here and see what we can do," Tyler Lindstad said just before heading out into Lake Michigan at Atwater Park in Shorewood.
Of all the days and weather to go surfing, why would he ever choose a snowstorm?
“I’m from Wisconsin dude.”
But there’s also a more practical and sane answer.
“The best season for surfing is in the winter usually here, so it's sort of like, if you want to go out and do it that’s the only way you’re going to get out there. Aside from every now and then again in the summer, but usually it’s now is the season," he said.
He has a point. The waves normally aren't big enough at places like Bradford Beach or Atwater Park to go surfing. That's why you only see surfers/wind surfers/kite surfers catching waves while it's storming. The high winds generate big enough waves to surf.
Still though, conditions were rough as 20 to 30 mph snow smacked Tyler in the face while he bobbed up and down at the mercy of the Lake Michigan current.
Unfortunately, he didn't catch any big waves, but his spirits are still high.
“Practice makes perfect..."
Which is why you will probably find him surfing during a storm again.
“Honestly, it’s still fresh air, getting outside, doing something different. Just being in the water is something I love doing," he said.
Surfing during a storm can be dangerous. Anyone who wishes to do so needs to take extreme care while in the water.
