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The Great Lakes Storm of November 1913

· Lake Erie losses: 1 page · Lives lost on Lake Erie: 6

Also called: Big Blow, Freshwater Fury, White Hurricane

The Great Lakes Storm of November 7–10, 1913, the Big Blow or White Hurricane, killed more than 250 people across the lakes, most of them on Lake Huron. On Lake Erie its center crossed the eastern end of the lake: Cleveland was buried in snow, and the Buffalo lightship sank with all six of her crew.

Wikipedia describes the storm of November 1913 as a blizzard with hurricane-force winds, and ranks it as the most lethal and destructive natural disaster in the recorded history of the Great Lakes. Between November 7 and 10 it killed more than 250 people, destroyed 19 ships and stranded 19 more, and cost about 68,300 tons of cargo.[1] Forecasters at the U.S. Weather Bureau did not have the data or the understanding of the atmosphere to predict it.[1]

Lake Erie felt the second phase of the storm on Sunday, November 9. A low-pressure system that had formed overnight to the south moved north and then northwest toward the lake near Erie, Pennsylvania. At Buffalo the wind swung from northwest to northeast to southeast during the day, with gusts of up to 80 mph in the early afternoon, and the barometer fell from 29.52 to 28.77 inches. At Cleveland the wind blew from the northwest at more than 50 mph, with a top gust of 79 mph late in the afternoon. The center of the storm then crossed the lake toward Toronto, with pressures as low as 968.5 hectopascals.[1]

Cleveland took 22 inches of snow in all, including 17 inches on November 10 alone, with drifts six feet high; streetcar crews stayed with their stranded cars for two nights, fed by local residents.[1]

Out on the lake, Lightship No. 82 was holding her station off Point Abino, Ontario, marking the approach to Buffalo. She sank with all six crew; Wikipedia's 1913 shipwreck list files the loss under November 10, and the Buffalo Lighthouse Association records that only one body was ever found.[2,3,4] Her hull was located in 63 feet of water the next spring, raised and returned to service.[2,3]

Lives lost: The crew of Lightship No. 82, the only Lake Erie loss listed for the storm in Wikipedia's 1913 shipwreck list. Across all the Great Lakes the storm killed more than 250 people.

Ships lost

Questions people ask

What did the 1913 Great Lakes storm do on Lake Erie?

Its center crossed the eastern end of the lake on November 9, 1913. Cleveland got 22 inches of snow and a 79 mph gust, and Lightship No. 82 sank off Point Abino with all six crew.

How many people died in the Great Lakes Storm of 1913?

More than 250 across the Great Lakes, according to Wikipedia; most losses were on Lake Huron. On Lake Erie, the six crew of Lightship No. 82 died.

Learn more

Look, don't take

Look, don't take. Shipwrecks and everything on them are protected by law; removing or disturbing anything can be a crime.

  • Ontario: under the Ontario Heritage Act no one may alter a marine archaeological site or remove an artifact from it without a provincial licence; fines for breaking this rule can reach $1,000,000.[5][6][7]

How Lake Erie wrecks are protected

Diving Lake Erie wrecks is dangerous: cold water, poor visibility, depth, entanglement and boat traffic. Nothing here is dive guidance or a dive position. Dive only with proper training, a qualified operator and current information from the groups that maintain moorings.

Sources

  1. Great Lakes Storm of 1913, Wikipedia. Accessed .
  2. United States lightship Buffalo (LV-82), Wikipedia. Accessed .
  3. List of shipwrecks in 1913, Wikipedia. Accessed .
  4. Ships | Buffalolighthouse, Buffalo Lighthouse Association. Accessed .
  5. law-on-oha-part6, Government of Ontario (e-Laws). Accessed .
  6. law-on-oreg-11-06, Government of Ontario (e-Laws). Accessed .
  7. Atlantic (1848 ship), Wikipedia. Accessed .

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