Frozen Fury: The 1913 White Hurricane The White Hurricane of 1913 was a storm so large that it ravaged the entire Great Lakes region and so intense that its 80-mph winds equaled those of a Caribbean hurricane.
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Frozen Fury: The 1913 White HurricaneThe White Hurricane of 1913 was a storm so large that it ravaged the entire Great Lakes region and so intense that its 80-mph winds equaled those of a Caribbean hurricane.
The Great Lakes are more than capable of generating waves over 10 feet high, despite being smaller than our oceans. This lack in size actually increases the danger over the water. This is because the wave period in the Great Lakes (the time between two wave crests) is much shorter than in the ocean.
Ok, but does Lake Superior ever completely freeze over? Again, the answer is yes, but rarely. The last time that Lake Superior completely froze over was in 1996, but it has come close to freezing a few times over the past two decades.
It's the 'forgotten' Great LakeLake Huron is often overlooked compared with the other four Great Lakes. Superior has a reputation as the coldest, deepest and largest.
Structural CurrentsThese currents form around structures such as breakwalls and piers. These currents are always present. The bigger the waves, the more dangerous the structural currents become. Remember that the wave periods are extremely short in the Great Lakes.
From some vantage points, the Great Lakes feel more like vast inland seas than freshwater lakes. But the 6 quadrillion gallons (~23 quadrillion liters) sloshing in Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario, and Erie represent one fifth of the planet's fresh water.
While there have been past “sightings,” most have turned out to be pranks or misidentifications. The reality is that the largest of the Great Lakes (Lake Superior and Michigan) are extremely deep lakes that are too cold for sharks.
In most cases, lakes are confined to smaller fetches which limit wave size, but the Great Lakes are large enough to produce frequent swells up to several metres. However, the highest ever recorded waves were 8.7 metres, outside of Marquette, Michigan, on Lake Superior.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS) Great Lakes Current Incident Database (GLCID), the Great Lakes averages around 12 drowning fatalities per year related to dangerous currents.