The Great Lakes are known for powerful storms resulting in significant loss of lives and vessels. The first recorded sailing vessel on the upper lakes, the Le Griffon, was lost on its return from Green Bay in 1679. Memorable storms across the lakes have been recorded since that time, often occurring in the month of November, taking men and ships to their death. With the advent of modern technology and sturdier vessels, fewer such losses have occurred. Wind across the large expanse of the lakes allows waves to build to substantial heights (fetches), and the open water can alter weather systems (fog, lake effect snow). Storm winds can alter the lakes as well with large systems causing storm surges that lower lake levels several feet on one side while raising it even higher on the other. The shallowest lake, Lake Erie, sometimes sees storm surge rises of 8 or 10 feet. Seiches cause short-term irregular lake level changes, killing people swept off beaches and piers and even sometimes sinking boats The great tolls caused by Great Lakes storms in 1868 and 1869 were one of the main reasons behind establishing a national weather forecasting service, initially run by the U.S. Army Signal Corps using telegraphs to announce approaching storms in a few port cities.An Economic History of Weather Forecasting , Erik D. Craft, EHnet - Economic History Services, University of Richmond, 2010-02-01
Some of the deadliest Great Lakes storms1860 Lady Elgin: over 400 dead1835 "Cyclone": 254 dead1913 Great Storm: 244 dead1880 Alpena Storm: about 100 dead1940 Armistice Day: 66 dead1916 Black Friday: 49 dead1958 Bradley: 33 dead 1905 Blow: 32 dead 1975 Fitzgerald: 29 dead1966 Morrell: 28 dead1894 May Gale: 27 dead
Lake Erie Gale (1811) In September of 1811, Jacob Butler was headed to Sandusky, Ohio as the new Indian Agent. When he arrived in Buffalo, he found it to be a small town of 40-50 houses and little activity. There were but a few ships in the harbor. The Catherine was a new schooner that had set sail the day before, but was now anchored nine miles up the Canadian shore at Point Ebenew. As it had set sail, it encountered a west wind forcing it to seek shelter. Seeing an opportunity to avoid the long trip around the lake, he crossed the Niagara River and with the help of a guide came upon the ship at anchor after two hours. Soon they were underway with a steady breeze pushing them towards Sandusky.
The ship was packed and every possible space in which a person could find repose was occupied. All night they traveled westward, the ship pushed by the wind and the schooner rocking from side to side. With so many people, so closely packed, many became nauseated. The next day, they traveled westward. As night fell on their second day of travel, they expected to see Sandusky in the morning. Everyone had just settled down for the night, when a commotion arose and a gale blew out of the southwest, nearly tipping the vessel over. If the schooner had not been ‘hove to’ and resting quietly, it would have been capsized. (Without shore lights, lighthouse, or modern navigation equipment, Captains would ‘heave to’ at night if they anticipated approaching land/harbor soon. This prevented them from running aground in the dark.)
Quickly the crew made the Catherine ready for the storm and let her drift before the winds. As daylight came, the captain was able to get his ship behind Presque Isle (Erie, Pennsylvania), where they rode out the storm for the next 24 hours. The winds persisted so fiercely that everything on deck was swept clear. The crew and passengers remained below deck in the dark, their supply of food gone. On the fourth day of his journey, the gale ended and they were able to resupply from shore. Setting sail for Sandusky, the hope was to make harbor by dark. Once again a gale of lesser force sprang up and pushed the vessel back to Presque Isle. Here, many of the passengers left the ship and hired a wagon for the two-week overland trip. On their next attempt to reach Sandusky, the Catherine made harbor without incident.
Storm in the age of canoes (1825) It was September 1825 when Henry Rowe Schoolcraft recorded a late fall storm on Lake Huron. He was returning from an Indian ‘Congress’ at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. It had been an uneventful six-day trip from the Mississippi River to Michilimackinac. From Mackinac, Schoolcraft was headed towards Detour Pass and up the St. Mary's River to Sault Ste. Marie. On the morning of 5 September, he arose, had breakfast and prepared to strike out in their canoes. The day was cloudy and threatening, so he decided to wait until the next day. Arising at three in the morning, he found the island lost in a fog. They waited until it began to clear at 6:30 a.m. and made their way to Goose Island, distance after three hours. From there, they made their way to Outard Point. Here, the headwind had increased so they hove to about noon and were able to pull into an inlet out of the wind and make camp. Eight hours later, the canoe party was still waiting for the wind to let up. The night brought a heavy rain, piercing the fabric of the tents, soaking everyone and everything. The morning of the 7th found the storm continuing. The increasing violence caused Schoolcraft to have his tent moved back into the trees for more protection. Around three, the sky seemed to be brightening and expectations were that the weather was clearing. But the rains and the wind came with renewed fury from the west and continued late into the night. As the morning of the 8th arrived, Schoolcraft determined to get on with his journey. As the wind was directly out of the west, he was headed east, he ordered the canoes readied and the sails. With sails reefed against the storm, the brigade set out into the lake at 10:00 a.m. Just under three and a half hours brought them 20 miles to the Isle St. Vital, behind which they took refuge from the wind. After a break, they once again set into the gale-force winds, driving for De Tour and the St. Mary's Strait. Here they found the schooner Harriet, down bound, waiting for the winds to subside. It was but another day and they were once again at Sault Ste. Marie.H.R. Schoolcraft, Personal Memoirs of a Residence of Thirty Years with the Indians Tribes on the American Frontiers, 1851
Early steam on the Lakes (1835) On November 11, 1835, a southwest wind swept across the lakes, taking numerous vessels. This was still early in the life of commercial shipping on the Lakes, so most of the losses were on the lower lakes where settlements were greatest.J.B. Mansfield, History of the Great Lakes, 1899
Buffalo was a major port on Lake Erie and felt the force of the storm as water from the lake forced ships onto the piers and shoreline of the city. The creek rose 20 feet as the wind and the harbor front were swept away. Ship Port of origin Lake Location Lives lost Free Trader Fort Burwell, Canada Lake Erie Off Dunkirk, New York all hands but one Comet Madison Lake Erie near Fairport all hands North America Lake Erie beached at Erie, Pennsylvania n/a Sandusky Buffalo, New York Lake Erie beached at Buffalo n/a Henry Clay Buffalo Lake Erie beached at Buffalo n/a Sheldon Thompson Buffalo Lake Erie beached at Buffalo n/a Two Brothers (sch) Buffalo Lake Erie beached at Buffalo n/a Tecumseh (sch) Buffalo Lake Erie beached at Buffalo n/a Col. Benton (sch) Buffalo Lake Erie beached at Buffalo n/a Godolphin (sch) Lake Erie beached at Fairport n/a Lagrange (sch) Buffalo Lake Erie capsized at Point Pelee all hands but two (clinging to mast) Robert Bruce Kingston, Ontario Lake Ontario near Henderson Point all hands Medora Oswego, New York Lake Ontario all hands Chance (sch) Lake Michigan 7 lost Bridget (sch) Lake Michigan near St. Joseph, Michigan 16 lost Sloan (sch) Lake Michigan 6 lost Delaware (sch) Lake Michigan
Big Blow of 1880 PS Alpena sank with loss of 80 passengers and crew.
The 1905 Blow (1905)
The Mataafa Storm of 1905 is the name of a storm that occurred on the Great Lakes on November 27–28, 1905.Duluth Seaway Port Authority, Minnesota The system moved across the Great Basin with moderate depth on November 26 and November 27, then east-northeastward across the Great Lakes on November 28. Fresh east winds were forecast for the Great Lakes for the afternoon and evening of November 27, with storm warnings were in effect by the morning of November 28. Storm-force winds and heavy snows accompanied the cyclone's passage. The storm, named after the Mataafa wreck, ended up destroying or damaging about 29 vessels, killing 36 seamen and causing shipping losses of $3.567 million (1905 dollars) on Lake Superior.
The Wrecks of November 28 ShipWolff, Julius F. Jr., Inland Seas, Volume 18 Shipping Line Refuge/Wreck Site Damage Isaac Ellwood (stmr) Pittsburgh Steamship Duluth aground Mataafa (stmr) Pittsburgh Steamship Duluth aground R.W. England (stmr) Tomlinson Duluth Crescent City (stmr) Pittsburgh Steamship Lakewood (7 m NE of Duluth) aground against cliffs Lafayette (stmr) Pittsburgh Steamship Encampment Island (7 m NE of Two Harbors, Minnesota) ‘broken up’ Manila (barge of Lafayette) Pittsburgh Steamship Encampment Island (7 m NE of Two Harbors) aground William Edenborn Pittsburgh Steamship nr Split Rock River hard ashore & broken in two Madeira (barge of Edenborn) Pittsburgh Steamship Gold Rock (3 mi NE) sunk and broken in two George Herbert (scow) Two Island, nr Schroeder, Minnesota smashed to pieces George Spencer (stmr-wooden) Thomasville (nr Tofte, Minnesota) hard aground Amboy (barge of Spencer) hard aground Monkshaven (stmr) Pie Island, Port Arthur, Ontario on the rocks William E. Corey (stmr) Pittsburgh Steamship Gull Island (Apostles) stranded Western Star (stmr) Fourteen-Mile Point nr Ontonagon, Michigan stranded tight Coralia (stmr) Pittsburgh Steamship Point Isabelle (east side Keweenaw Peninsula) ‘hung-up’ Maia (barge of Coralia) Pittsburgh Steamship Point Isabelle (east side Keweenaw Peninsula) ‘hung-up’ Ira Owen (stmr) NE of Outer Island (Apostles) foundered Percy G. Walker (stmr) Two Harbors Badly damaged deck house Vega (stmr) Gilchrist Transportation Co. South or North? side of Fox Island 'broke in two and pounded to pieces'
The Big Storm (1913)
In 1913, from the ninth of November through the twelfth, all five lakes were turned into cauldrons of rolling water by a unique combination of weather patterns. Before the four days ended, 13 ships went under and many more were driven ashore. Two hundred forty-four men died. The largest loss of ships was on Lake Huron (see Shipwrecks of Lake Huron)
Ship Type of Vessel Lake Location Lives lost Argus Steamer Lake Huron near Point Aux Barques, Michigan all 25 lost James Carruthers Steamer Lake Huron near Kincardine all 22 lost Hydrus Steamer Lake Huron near Lexington, Michigan all 25 lost Leafield Steamer Lake Superior near Angus Island all 18 lost John A. McGean Steamer Lake Huron near Port Hope, Michigan all 28 lost Plymouth Barge Lake Michigan near Gull Island all 7 lost Charles S. Price Steamer Lake Huron near Port Huron, Michigan all 28 lost Regina Steamer Lake Huron near Harbor Beach, Michigan all 20 lost Isaac M. Scott Steamer Lake Huron near Northpoint, Michigan all 28 lost Henry B. Smith Steamer Lake Superior near Marquette, Michigan all 25 lost Wexford Steamer Lake Huron north of Grand Bend, Ontario all hands 1 Buffalo (LV-82) Lightship Lake Erie Point Albino (near Buffalo) all 6 lost 1 (actual number of lives lost on Wexford uncertain) 17 to 24 victims reported
Black Friday (1916)
Friday, October 20, 1916, on Lake Erie. These were the years before there was ship to shore radio. Once out on the lakes, each ship had only itself to depend upon and the chance of meeting another ship. While only four ships were lost, nearly all the men of these crews were lost to the tempest of the storm-tossed lake. In all, Black Friday took the lives of 49 men.