November Storms 1975 and 1998
November 1975 was somewhat similar to this November as it also started out very mild. But November 10th that year there was a great storm on the great lakes and that evening came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald was put into service on June 8, 1958. It was 730 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 39 feet high. It was designed to carry taconite pellets (a type of iron ore) from mines near Duluth to iron works in Detroit and Toledo. It was the largest ore carrier on the Great Lakes when it entered service. Its first voyage took place September 24, 1958.
During the early morning of November 9, 1975, a low-pressure system began to take shape in the southern plains. This storm would move northeast and intensify considerably over the next 36 hours as it moved into the Great Lakes region. During that time, the Edmund Fitzgerald and another vessel, the Arthur M. Anderson, departed ports on western Lake Superior to begin their voyages east to the Sault Ste. Marie locks and eventually the lower Great Lakes The two ships, the Anderson and the Fitzgerald, departed Two Harbors, Minnesota with similar cargo. Soon after, a gale warning was issued for Lake Superior. Captain McSorley of the Fitzgerald acknowledged receiving the warning while in communication with Captain Cooper of the Anderson. The captains decided to take a more northerly track across Lake Superior because of the storm warning, a general practice during bad weather.
Late in the afternoon, 50-knot winds were blowing across Lake Superior. The Anderson reported receiving hurricane-force winds of 75 knots. At around 3:30 p.m., the captain of the Fitzgerald radioed out to the Anderson and another ship, stating the Fitzgerald had a “bad list,” had lost both radars, and was taking heavy seas over the deck in one of the worst seas he had ever encountered. Soon after, he asked the captain of the Anderson to assist him with radar plots until he could make it to Whitefish point. The last radio communication took place at 7:10 pm. Captain Cooper asked how the ship was weathering the storm and Captain McSorley reported, “We are holding our own.” It is believed that the Fitzgerald sank suddenly soon after without sending out any distress signals.
November 1998
While no ships sank another storm happened on the same dates as the 1975 storm in 1998.
In November 1998 a intense storm system tracked northeast from the central U.S. through the Great Lakes region during the period of November 9-11, 1998. On the morning of November 9, a low pressure system was organizing in eastern Colorado. Its pressure at that time was 29.41 inches. The system tracked east and then curved northeast, reaching northwest Iowa on the morning of November 10. It had rapidly intensified with its pressure dropping to 28.70 inches. The storm system further strengthened to an unusually low 28.55 inches (967mb) as it tracked just east of Duluth, MN early in the evening of the 10th. By the morning of November 11th, the low was located in north central Ontario. Its pressure at that time was 28.58 inches
There have been other years with big November storms that I will cover at another time2
November 2020
This November has already seen 2 days of 70 or better and there is a good chance of several more and some indications that it could even reach the upper 70’s or even up to 80 somewhere in the Great Lakes area. At with highs that warm there is a good chance of several record highs between today and Tuesday.
Slim
Cleaned out the garage today. It was a perfect day for September, let alone November.
Rejoice, Rejoice, Rejoice and Thank GOD! It is a great day to be an American!
NEW RECORD HIGH. A new record high of 71 has been record for November 7th has been reached at Grand Rapids the old record was 69 set in 1916.
Slim
Thanks Slim! Sad story with the Fitzgerald. I always wonder how today’s ships would hold up in a big storm like that.
You know I think that many of the ships on the lakes are very old I will have to look to see the age of the ships.
Slim
I know I would not want to be on of those ships with a storm like that.
Here is a fun fact. Yesterday Duluth MN set a new record high for the month of November with a high of 75 that is the warmest it has gotten in Duluth in the month of November. Here at GR our record is 81
Slim
At this time the mean at Grand Rapids this November is 50.4° that is a departure of +5.6. The high so far has been 72 and the low so far is 27. There has been a total of 0.2″ of snow fall. For today we will have record or near record temperatures. The record for today is 69 set in1916. And there well be more near record or record highs for several days. The official over night low at GRR was 52 but it was a cooler 43 here at my house and that trend continues as the last reading… Read more »
I noticed the other day the snow total was up to 0.2” after being at a trace from Sunday. Did we get snow on Wednesday when it was 70 degrees?? And how exactly do you measure a tenth of an inch of snow?
Micrometer