My City December 2022

than 100 stations along the Great Lakes shores. Volunteers would then display flags and/or lanterns as warnings to those out at sea. Sailors near land only had 12 to 24 hours in which to prepare.Those further out in the waters had no warning whatsoever. So, when ships were warned on November 7 of a “moderately severe” storm on the way indicating wind speeds of up to 55 mph, they

were caught unaware when in truth, speeds topped out at 80 mph over the deepest waters. At 10am on Saturday, November 8, the storm status was upgraded to severe. Most captains ignored the warning flags if sighted. Commerce continued. It was on this night that the ma jority of ships were lost on Lakes Michigan and Superior. Lake Huron was next in line. When November 9 began, gales on Lake Huron registered close to normal for November.The storm, how ever, was slowly approaching from the northwest just as another large storm was coming in from Lake Erie to the south. Both storms collided over Lake Huron just south of Alpena creating massive waves. At least three ships were found floating upside-down, attesting to the strength of the wind and waves. Ships on the waters of Lake Huron’s southern tip were met with 90 mph winds and relentless blowing snow. As the combined storm moved out of the area on November 10, lake effect blizzards covered Cleve land in 22 inches of snow, knocking out power and filling the streets with drifts as high as six feet. Shipwrecks occurred on all Great Lakes with the exception of Ontario. Nineteen ships were destroyed, 19 were left stranded on the water, and 250 people perished. Over $1 million in cargo was lost to the murky depths. Despite the White Hurricane tragedy, ship builders and shipping companies resisted advancements in cargo ship design for over 60 years until the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.Today, advancements in the Weather Service have led to more effective means of tracking storms and issuing warnings.

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