The Great Storm of 1913: White Hurricane ravaged the Great Lakes and its ships for days
The Big Blow. The White Hurricane. Freshwater Fury.
The Great Lakes storm that spawned all of those nicknames happened from Nov. 7-10, 1913. After it was over, more than a dozen ships and all their crew were lost, and an additional 27 ships were driven aground. Six of those were destroyed and could not be rebuilt. Sadly, no one could determine the total number of sailors lost.
Seldom are the Great Lakes quiet in November. Most times, great and furious storms play no favorite among lakes, except maybe Lake Erie; its location and shallow depth are perfect for unpredictable storms the year around. There have been many furious storms upon the lakes, yet four seem to win the lottery as the worst storms in Great Lakes history. Some storms leave legends about the damage, violence, and lost lives. Sailors caught in one of these massive storms on the lakes have written and talked about the total devastation and loss of lives. But the worst was the Great Storm of 1913, which marched across all the lakes. It has been estimated that more than $1.2 billion in ships and cargo was lost, not to mention the lives of the sailors.
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Great Storm of 1913
The cities and ports on the lakes suffered $1.6 billion of damage. This storm devastated and paralyzed port cities along the lakes' shorelines, with Cleveland and Chicago suffering severe staggering damage. As they made their way East, the storms left American and Canadian cities without power, transportation and communications for a minimum of five days. A few cities reported severe damage to municipal projects that had been worked on for many years.
During this storm, it was believed that three storm fronts joined and swept across the Great Lakes. This strange weather event produced winds of more than 90 mph and waves of more than 35 feet. The winds and rains were at least 16 hours to 20 hours in duration. Reports at the time say the winds were considered cyclonic. Some even said the winds blew opposite of the wave actions at times. This created waves spaced shorter apart that came in pairs and triplets.
To make matters worse, whiteout snow squalls blanketed the entire area. It is hard to imagine sailing on the lakes during this storm. With all these conditions and near-zero visibility, navigating would have been impossible. The wind and waves must have produced a deafening roar, while the snow squalls made it impossible to control the ships, let alone see where they might be headed.
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Lake Huron was hit hard
Lake Huron was the most brutally hit, with eight ships destroyed. More than 170 sailors lost their lives. Maybe the strangest of all the ships lost, the Charles S. Price, a 524-foot-long, 54-foot-wide freighter, was found floating upside down within its assigned traffic lane. Never had a ship of this size and weight capsized on the Great Lakes.
Lake Superior, the largest lake, lost two ships and 41 sailors. They sank, and to this day, no trace of them has been found. In addition, eight other ships were wrecked, with three sailors lost. Lake Michigan had fewer losses, with only one vessel with seven crew members, and its remains have never been located. Three other ships were wrecked as well.
Meanwhile, Lake Erie experienced the loss of Lightship 82 and six of its crew members. Six other ships, plus an unknown number of barges, were run aground and destroyed. Lake Ontario was the only Great Lake with no ships wrecked or crew members killed during the gale.
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This storm caused changes in many areas of navigation, weather alerts and predictions upon the Great Lakes in the United States and Canada. The shipbuilders came under fire and had to make substantial changes to how they built these vessels and improve navigation instruments.
Gene Ware is the author of 10 books. He serves on the board of the Presque Isle Light Station and is past chairman of the boards of the Tom Ridge Center Foundation and the Presque Isle Partnership. Email him at ware906@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: More than a century later, 1913 Great Storm remains Great Lakes' worst
