Ever since people have traveled the Great Lakes, storms have taken lives and vessels. The first sailing vessel on the upper lakes, the Le Griffon, was lost on its return from Green Bay in 1679. Since that time, memorable storms have swept the lakes, often in the month of November,[1] taking men and ships to their death. With the advent of modern technology and sturdier vessels, fewer such losses have occurred.[2] The large expanse of the lakes allows waves to build to substantial heights 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[3] 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.[4]
| Some of the deadliest Great Lakes storms |
| 1860 Lady Elgin: over 400 dead |
| 1835 "Cyclone": 254 dead |
| 1913 Great Storm: 244 dead |
| 1880 Alpena Storm: about 100 dead |
| 1940 Armistice Day: 66 dead |
| 1916 Black Friday: 49 dead |
| 1958 Bradley: 33 dead |
| 1905 Blow: 32 dead |
| 1975 Fitzgerald: 29 dead |
| 1966 Morrell: 28 dead |
| 1894 May Gale: 27 dead |
- ^ Ackerman, Steven A. (August 27, 2010). "Ask the Weather Guys: Does Wisconsin have a hurricane season?". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
- ^ Havighurst (1966), p. 287
- ^ "Seiches on the Great Lakes". Geo.msu.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
- ^ An Economic History of Weather Forecasting Archived 2007-05-03 at the Wayback Machine, Erik D. Craft, EHnet - Economic History Services, University of Richmond, 2010-02-01