Winter Storms

We just passed the anniversary of one of the most notorious storms in Great Lakes history, known as the "Storm of the Century," or the "Mataafa Blow".  It occurred on November 27 - 28, 1905.  Many ships went down, including: the Mataafa (off Duluth), Lafayette (north of Two Harbors), the Ira H. Owen (last seen near the Apostle Islands), the Edenborn (Split Rock River), and Madeira (Gold Rock Point).  That storm was the reason the famous Split Rock Lighthouse was built next to the Madeira wreck site.

Our first winter storm of this season occurred on the last Thursday of October.  We had lots of snow, high winds, and very large waves on Lake Superior.  I was down in Grand Marais doing a radio show that night, and got some pictures and videos of the event.

In the parking lot by the Coast Guard station, my car shook with the gusts of the wind.  The water in the puddles on the pavement was moving sideways, as though there was a current present.  Gigantic waves were breaking off shore, and large waves were going right over the beach, slamming into the sea wall, and sending spray into the parking lot.  I've included two videos of the event at https://vimeo.com/245136292 and https://vimeo.com/245141109.

Grand Marais, MN Lighthouses in storm.

A few days after this storm, I drove through Duluth, Minnesota.  Lake Superior was the color of the Red River of the North outside of the Duluth and Superior Harbors due to the pounding of the waves.  Massive waves also destroyed much of the Duluth Lake Walk according to reports of Duluth residents.

The snow from that storm still remains on the Gunflint Trail over a month later.  Winter has come a little early for the region, and many of us look forward to the winter fun ahead.