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Great Lakes Storm of 1913

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   The Great Lakes Storm of 1913, historically referred to as the "Big
   Blow," the "Freshwater Fury," or the "White Hurricane," was a blizzard
   with hurricane-force winds that devastated the Great Lakes basin in the
   United States Midwest and the Canadian province of Ontario from
   November 7, 1913, to November 10, 1913.

   The deadliest and most destructive natural disaster to ever hit the
   lakes^ 1, the Great Lakes Storm killed over 250 people, destroyed 19
   ships, and stranded 19 others. The financial loss in vessels alone was
   nearly US$5 million, or about $100 million in present-day adjusted
   dollars. The large loss of cargo, including coal, iron ore, and grain,
   meant short-term rising prices for consumer products throughout North
   America.

   The storm originated as the convergence of two major storm fronts,
   fuelled by the lakes' relatively warm waters—a seasonal process called
   a "November gale". It produced 90 mph (145 km/h) winds, waves over 35
   feet (11 m) high, and whiteout snow squalls.
   The Detroit News, November 13, 1913, page 1
   Enlarge
   The Detroit News, November 13, 1913, page 1

Cause: the November gale

   Convergence of systems to form the November gale.
   Enlarge
   Convergence of systems to form the November gale.

   During autumn, cold, dry air moving south from northern Canada
   converges with warm, moist air moving north from the Gulf of Mexico,
   forming large storm systems in the middle of the continent. Several of
   these systems move along preferred paths toward the Great Lakes. When
   the cold air from these storms moves over the lakes, it is warmed by
   the waters below. This added heat postpones the arctic outbreak in the
   region, allowing the lakes to remain relatively warm for much longer
   than otherwise.

   In November, two storm tracks converge over the Great Lakes. One
   travels southeastward from the province of Alberta; the other brings
   storms from the lee of the central Rocky Mountains northeastward toward
   the Great Lakes. This convergence is commonly referred to as a
   "November gale" or "November witch". When a cyclonic system moves over
   the lakes, its power is intensified by the jet stream above, and warm
   waters below. This allows the storm to maintain hurricane-force winds
   up to 100 mph (160 km/h), produce waves over 50 feet (15 m) high, and
   dump several feet of snow or inches of rain. Fuelled by the warm lake
   water, these powerful storms may remain over the Great Lakes for days.
   Intense winds then ravage the lakes and surrounding shores, severely
   eroding the shoreline, and flooding the coasts.

   November gales have been a constant bane of the Great Lakes, with at
   least 25 killer storms striking the region since 1847. During the
   November gale of 1975, the giant ore bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald
   sank suddenly, without a distress signal.

Prelude to the storm

   The storm was first noticed on Thursday, November 6, on the western
   side of Lake Superior, rapidly moving toward northern Lake Michigan.
   The weather forecast in The Detroit News called for "moderate to brisk"
   winds for the Great Lakes, with occasional rains Thursday night or
   Friday for the upper lakes (except on southern Lake Huron), and fair to
   unsettled conditions for the lower lakes.

   Around midnight, the steamer Cornell, while 50 miles (80 km) west of
   Whitefish Point in Lake Superior, ran into a sudden northerly gale and
   was badly damaged. This gale would last until late Monday, November 10,
   almost forcing Cornell ashore. This would be the shape of things to
   come.

The storm

November 7

   Storm warning with northwesterly winds
   Enlarge
   Storm warning with northwesterly winds

   On Friday, the weather forecast in the Port Huron Times-Herald in Port
   Huron, Michigan, described the storm as "moderately severe." By then,
   the storm was centered over the upper Mississippi Valley, and had
   caused moderate to brisk southerly winds with warmer weather over the
   lakes. The forecast predicted increased winds and falling temperatures
   over the next 24 hours.

   At 10:00 AM, Coast Guard stations and United States Department of
   Agriculture (USDA) Weather Bureau offices at Lake Superior ports raised
   white pennants above square red flags with black centers, indicating a
   storm warning with northwesterly winds.

   By late afternoon, the storm signal flags were replaced with a vertical
   sequence of red, white, and red lanterns, indicating that a hurricane
   with winds over 74 mph (119 km/h) was coming. The winds on Lake
   Superior had already reached 50 mph (80 km/h) and an accompanying
   blizzard was moving toward Lake Huron.

November 8

   By Saturday, the storm had been changed to " severe" status, and was
   centered over eastern Lake Superior, covering the entire lake basin.
   The weather forecast from the Port Huron Times-Herald stated that
   southerly winds had remained "moderate to brisk". Northwesterly winds
   had reached gale strength on northern Lake Michigan and western Lake
   Superior, with winds up to 60 mph (97 km/h) at Duluth, Minnesota.

   That morning, assistant engineer Milton Smith of the bulk carrier
   Charles S. Price looked at the weather forecast in Cleveland, Ohio, and
   decided not to join the crew on their voyage. For the past few days,
   Smith had felt uneasy about this trip; he tried to talk his friend and
   neighbour, wheelsman Arz McIntosh, into leaving with him, but McIntosh
   claimed that he needed the money. Bert L. Reynolds of Cleveland was
   hired to replace Smith before Price departed from Ashtabula, Ohio.

   There was a false lull in the storm, called a sucker hole, allowing
   traffic to begin flowing again, both down the St. Marys River and up
   Lake Erie, and the Detroit and St. Clair rivers, into Lake Huron. The
   gale wind flags raised at over a hundred ports were ignored. Long ships
   traveled all that day through the St. Marys River, all night through
   the Straits of Mackinac, and early Sunday morning up the Detroit and
   St. Clair rivers.

November 9

   A wave breaking on the shore of Lake Michigan while a man watches from
   a bridge.
   Enlarge
   A wave breaking on the shore of Lake Michigan while a man watches from
   a bridge.

   By noon on Sunday, weather conditions on lower Lake Huron were
   relatively normal for a November gale. Barometric pressures in some
   areas actually began to rise, bringing hope of an end to the storm. The
   low pressure area which had moved across Lake Superior was moving
   northeast, away from the lakes.

   The Weather Bureau had sent out its twice daily reports at
   approximately 8:00 AM, and would not send another set of reports to
   Washington, D.C., till around 8:00 PM. This proved to be gravely
   unfortunate for the Great Lakes region, as the storm would have the
   better part of a day to build up hurricane forces before the Bureau
   headquarters in Washington, D.C., would have detailed information.

   Along southeastern Lake Erie, near the city of Erie, Pennsylvania, a
   southern low pressure area was moving toward the lake. This low had
   formed overnight, and so was absent from Friday's weather map. It had
   been traveling northward, and began moving northwestward after passing
   over Washington, D.C.

   The intense counterclockwise rotation of the low was made apparent by
   the changing wind directions around its centre. In Buffalo, New York,
   morning northwest winds had shifted to northeast by noon, and were
   blowing southeast by 5:00 PM, with the fastest gusts, 80 mph (130
   km/h), occurring between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM. Just 180 miles (290 km)
   to the southwest, in Cleveland, building winds remained northwest
   during the day, shifting to the west by 5:00 PM, and maintaining speeds
   over 50 mph (80 km/h). The fastest gust in Cleveland, 79 mph (127
   km/h), occurred at 4:40 PM. Also of note is the dramatic drop in
   barometric pressure in Buffalo, from 29.52 inHg (999.7 hPa) at 8:00 AM
   to 28.77 inHg (974.3 hPa) at 8:00 PM.

   The rotating low continued along its northward path into the evening,
   bringing its counterclockwise winds in phase with the northwesterly
   winds already hitting Lakes Superior and Huron. This resulted in an
   explosive increase in northerly wind speeds and swirling snow. Ships on
   Lake Huron that were south of Alpena, Michigan, especially around
   Harbour Beach and Port Huron in Michigan and Goderich and Sarnia in
   Ontario, were battered with huge waves moving southward toward St.
   Clair River.

   From 8:00 PM to midnight, the storm became what modern meteorologists
   call a " weather bomb". Sustained hurricane-speed winds over 70 mph
   (110 km/h) ravaged the four western lakes. The worst damage was done
   down Lake Huron as numerous ships scrambled for shelter along its
   southern end. Gusts of 90 mph (140 km/h) were reported off Harbour
   Beach, Michigan. The lake's shape allowed northerly winds to increase
   unchecked, due to the lower surface friction of water compared to land,
   and the ability of wind to guide itself down the long axis of a body of
   water.
   Cleveland streetcar stranded in the snow
   Enlarge
   Cleveland streetcar stranded in the snow

   In retrospect, weather forecasters of the time did not have enough data
   or understanding of atmospheric dynamics to predict or comprehend the
   events of Sunday, November 9. Frontal mechanisms, referred to then as "
   squall lines", were not yet understood. Surface observations were
   collected only twice daily at various stations around the country, and
   by the time this data was collected and hand-drawn maps were created,
   the information was already hours behind actual weather conditions.

November 10 and 11

   On Monday morning, the storm had moved northeast of London, Ontario,
   dragging lake effect blizzards in its wake. An additional 17 inches (43
   cm) of snow were dumped on Cleveland, Ohio that day, filling the
   streets with snow drifts 6 feet (2 m) high. Streetcar operators stayed
   with their stranded, powerless vehicles for two nights, eating whatever
   food was provided by local residents. Travelers were forced to take
   shelter and wait for things to clear up.

   By Tuesday, the storm was rapidly moving across eastern Canada. Without
   the warm lake waters, it lost power quickly. This also meant less
   snowfall, both because of the fast motion of the storm and the lack of
   lake effect snow. All shipping was halted on Monday and part of Tuesday
   along the St. Lawrence River around Montreal, Quebec.

Aftermath

   Cleveland after the blizzard
   Enlarge
   Cleveland after the blizzard

   Historically, storms of such magnitude and with such high velocities
   haven't lasted more than four or five hours. This storm, however, raged
   at an average speed of 60 mph (100 km/h) for over sixteen hours, with
   frequent bursts of over 70 mph (110 km/h). It crippled traffic on the
   lakes and throughout the Great Lakes basin region.

Surrounding shoreline

   Along the shoreline, blizzards shut down traffic and communication,
   causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. A 22-inch (56 cm)
   snowfall in Cleveland, Ohio, put stores out of business for two days.
   There were four-foot (122 cm) drifts around Lake Huron. Power was out
   for several days across Michigan and Ontario, cutting off telephone and
   telegraph communications. A Chicago, Illinois, park project, eight
   years in the making, was destroyed in as many hours.
   East 105th Street, Cleveland, Ohio, November 11.
   Enlarge
   East 105th Street, Cleveland, Ohio, November 11.

   After the final blizzards hit Cleveland, the city was paralyzed under
   feet of snow and ice, without power for days. Telephone poles had been
   snapped like twigs, and power cables lay in tangled masses. From the
   November 11 Cleveland Plain Dealer:

          "Cleveland lay in white and mighty solitude, mute and deaf to
          the outside world, a city of lonesome snowiness, storm-swept
          from end to end, when the violence of the two-day blizzard
          lessened late yesterday afternoon."

          "Take it all in all—the depth of the snowfall, the tremendous
          wind, the amount of damage done and the total unpreparedness of
          the people—I think it is safe to say that the present storm is
          the worst experienced in Cleveland during the whole forty-three
          years the Weather Bureau has been established in the city." —
          William H. Alexander, Cleveland's official observer

   The 504 ft (154 m) Charles S. Price, upside down on the southern end of
   Lake Huron.
   Enlarge
   The 504 ft (154 m) Charles S. Price, upside down on the southern end of
   Lake Huron.

On the lakes

   The greatest damage was done on the lakes. Major shipwrecks occurred on
   all but Lake Ontario, with most happening throughout southern and
   western Lake Huron.

   Personal accounts of lake masters were that waves reached at least 35
   feet (11 m) in height. Being shorter in length than waves ordinarily
   formed by gales, they occurred in rapid succession, with three waves
   frequently striking one after the other. Masters have also stated that
   the wind often blew in directions opposite to the waves below. This was
   the result of the storm's cyclonic motion, something rarely seen on the
   Great Lakes.
   Artist's rendition of how Price looked before finally sinking to the
   bottom.
   Enlarge
   Artist's rendition of how Price looked before finally sinking to the
   bottom.

   In the late afternoon of November 10, an unknown vessel was spotted
   floating upside-down in about sixty feet of water on the eastern coast
   of Michigan, within sight of Huronia Beach and the mouth of the St.
   Clair River. Determining the identity of this "mystery ship" became of
   regional interest, resulting in daily front page newspaper articles.
   The ship eventually sank to the bottom, and it was not until early
   Saturday morning, November 15, that it was finally identified as
   Charles S. Price. The front page of that day's Port Huron Times-Herald
   extra edition read, "BOAT IS PRICE — DIVER IS BAKER — SECRET KNOWN".
   Milton Smith, the assistant engineer who decided at the last moment not
   to join his crew on premonition of disaster, aided in identifying any
   bodies that were found.

   The final tally of financial losses included US$2,332,000 for vessels
   totally lost, $830,900 for vessels that became constructive total
   losses, $620,000 for vessels stranded but returned to service, and
   approximately $1,000,000 in lost cargoes. This does not include
   financial losses in coastal cities.

   There were several long-term consequences of the storm. Complaints
   against the USDA Weather Bureau of alleged unpreparedness resulted in
   increased efforts to achieve more accurate weather forecasting and
   faster realization and communication of proper storm warnings.
   Criticism of the shipping companies and shipbuilders led to a series of
   conferences with insurers and mariners to seek safer designs for
   vessels. This resulted in the construction of ships with greater
   stability and more longitudinal strength. Immediately following the
   blizzard of Cleveland, Ohio, the city initiated a campaign to move all
   utility cables underground, in tubes beneath major streets. The project
   took half a decade.

Ships foundered

   Ships wrecked during the storm.
   Enlarge
   Ships wrecked during the storm.
   Bodies from Wexford washed ashore near Goderich, Ontario.
   Enlarge
   Bodies from Wexford washed ashore near Goderich, Ontario.

   The following list includes ships which sank during the storm, killing
   their entire crews. It is sorted geographically by the lake on which
   each ship disappeared, and alphabetically by the name of the ship. This
   list does not include the three victims from the freighter William
   Nottingham, who volunteered to leave the ship on a lifeboat in search
   of assistance. While the boat was being lowered into the water, a
   breaking wave smashed it into the side of the ship. The men disappeared
   into the near-freezing waters below.
     * Lake Superior
          + Leafield: 18 victims
          + Henry B. Smith: 23 victims
     * Lake Michigan
          + Plymouth ( barge): 7 victims
     * Lake Huron
          + Argus: 28 victims
          + James Carruthers: 22 victims
          + Hydrus: 25 victims
          + John A. McGean: 28 victims
          + Charles S. Price: 28 victims
          + Regina: 20 victims
          + Isaac M. Scott: 28 victims
          + Wexford: 20 victims
     * Lake Erie
          + Lightship 82: 6 victims

   Of the twelve ships that sank in the storm, five have never been found:
   Henry B. Smith, Leafield, James C. Carruthers, Hydrus, and the barge
   Plymouth. The most recent discovery was that of Wexford in the summer
   of 2000.

Quotations

     * "I knew it was storming before I was told. The rooms, the
       corridors, everywhere within this building vibrates with the power
       of the storm outside. The storm waves, like sound waves or the
       waves of the wireless, will not be denied by stone walls and plate
       glass windows." — Helen Keller, trapped in a hotel during the
       Cleveland blizzard, after having completed a public lecture

     * "Dear wife and Children. We were left up here in Lake Michigan by
       McKinnon, captain James H. Martin tug, at anchor. He went away and
       never said goodbye or anything to us. Lost one man yesterday. We
       have been out in storm forty hours. Goodbye dear ones, I might see
       you in Heaven. Pray for me. / Chris K. / P.S. I felt so bad I had
       another man write for me. Goodbye forever." — message found in a
       bottle 11 days after Plymouth disappeared, dictated by Chris
       Keenan, federal marshal in charge of the barge

     * "No lake master can recall in all his experience a storm of such
       unprecedented violence with such rapid changes in the direction of
       the wind and its gusts of such fearful speed... It was unusual and
       unprecedented and it may be centuries before such a combination of
       forces may be experienced again." — excerpt from Lake Carriers'
       Association report, 1913

     * "Erie, and Ontario, and Huron, and Superior, and Michigan — possess
       an ocean-like expansiveness, with many of the ocean's noblest
       traits... they are swept by Borean and dismasting blasts as direful
       as any that lash the salted wave; they know what shipwrecks are,
       for out of sight of land, however inland, they have drowned full
       many a midnight ship with all its shrieking crew." — Herman
       Melville, Moby-Dick (1851)

     * Gordon Lightfoot, in the song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald:

                The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
                Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
                Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
                When the gales of November come early.

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