This Week in History: The Great Lakes Storm of 1913
Nicknamed the “White Hurricane” and the “Freshwater Fury,” a major winter storm struck the Great Lakes between November 7th-10th, 1913. It remains the largest inland maritime disaster, in terms of numbers of ships lost, in U.S. history.
Two low pressure systems, one southwest of Lake Superior and another over the Mid-Atlantic and Carolinas, formed over the span of November 5th to 6th. The low pressure system southwest of Lake Superior underwent rapid intensification starting on November 7th, allowing it to be an extratropical cyclone. This system mainly brought high winds to the Great Lakes between November 7th to 10th. Meanwhile, the low of the Mid-Atlantic and Carolinas was weaker, but it transported a significant amount of warm, moisture Atlantic air into the cold air over the Great Lakes. The result of these two systems was heavy, wind-driven snow and high waves.
By the conclusion of the storm, this impressive dropped almost two feet of snow for areas near the Great Lakes, including Duluth, Minn., Chicago and Cleveland. Wind gusts of 70 to 90 mph were also reported, leaving cities paralyzed for days. Waves reached 35 feet high. It caused an estimated $6 million ($166 million 2021 USD) in damage. Nineteen ships were destroyed, and another nineteen were stranded. More than 250 people were also killed, most of them being sailors.
At the time, the U.S. Weather Bureau did not have the luxury of computer models, nor the detailed surface and upper-air observations, weather satellites or radar to make the most accurate predictions. This would include predicting wind directions to allow ships to avoid or cope with the effects of the storm. These factors contributed to the storm’s destructiveness.
In 1913, Weather Bureau forecasters would send gale warnings via telegraph to more than a hundred stations along the Great Lakes shores, where volunteers would display flags and lanterns to warn sailors of deteriorating conditions. There warnings were typically hoisted 12 to 24 hours in advance of a storm. For sailors leaving port, there was no means of knowing the character of an approaching storm, and vessels beyond the sight of land were unable to obtain any information.
In the case of the White Hurricane of Freshwater Fury, Weather Bureau forecasters issued gale warnings on November 7th. However, even the forecasters were caught by surprise by the strength and longevity of the powerful storm.
Technology has come a long way since 1913, and marine forecasting would be tested again 100 years after the Great Lake snowstorm with Superstorm Sandy. This was another unique set-up where there was a cold front colliding with a tropical system over New Jersey and the metro New York City region. There was still damaging flooding, but the great technology and forecast models available led forecasters to create a more accurate forecast, which saved mariners, recreational boaters and businesses countless dollars as they were able to prepare in advance of Sandy’s storm and hurricane force winds and near 20-foot waves.
Source: NWS, NOAA
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Image: View of wave breaking on the shore of Lake Michigan by Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois, while a man watches from High Bridge. (Chicago Daily News, Inc.)