Spring Storm on Lake Superior

Last week, much of the country was impacted by a huge storm.  On the radar, it went from at least the Canadian border to Cuba.  The top of the storm was spread out like the cap of a mushroom across the Great Lakes.  Waves were reported on Lake Superior to the National Weather Service as being at least 15-feet tall by one of the ships struggling far from shore.  Here are a series of pictures and one video of the storm:

This shrub had one of the most amazing icicle formations I have ever seen.

Most people wouldn't even notice this shrub on a normal day.

The parking lot was covered in glare ice.

The seawall I was facing is 8 - 10 feet tall and the waves in the next few photos were a long way above it.

This is a picture of Artist Point.  Notice that everything is covered with ice.

 

The reason I was down in Grand Marais during that storm was to do my Sunday radio shows.  I announced the weather every half-hour instead of the usual hourly frequency.  Every time I refreshed the page from the National Weather Service, the outlook more dire.  When I took my dinner break between shows, my car fishtailed a little when I turned onto highway 61, and I felt the anti-lock breaks come on when I stopped.  Luckily, some great friends let me stay at their house in Grand Marais that night, so I did not have to risk the drive home.

The next morning, I took some pictures of the aftermath of the storm in Grand Marais.  There were still some waves, but they were small enough for me to get close to the lake, and see the ice formations.

These ice-covered railings are by the East Bay Suites.

You can really see how high the waves splashed up on the southwest breakwater lighthouse.

This picture and the next are of the same shrub.  The icicles were absolutely amazing.  On Thursday, I came back to Grand Marais, and found that many of the branches of this magnificent icy shrub had shattered under the extra weight.

It is rare to seen neighboring icicles going in different directions.

This breakwater was covered with glare ice. 
Three days later, it was bare again.

The storm made Artist Point look like something out of Dr. Zhivago.

The ice covering made this stump and pine cone look like they were petrified.

This ship is passing the edge of Artist Point.  We usually see ships from Grand Marais in the early and late shipping season, but not in the middle.

When I came back to attend the Artist Guild meeting  at the Grand Marais Public Library on Thursday, most of the ice formations had melted.  It has been sunny and warm ever since.  Winter may have given us one more show, but spring is definitely on the way.

Aurora Borealis at Gunflint Lake

Last night, I was delighted with a beautiful display of the Northern Lights at Gunflint Lake.  At 10:00 PM, they looked like a green fog on the northern horizon.  As the evening progressed, distinct curtains formed, and red and pink sections starting appearing.  The Aurora Borealis flashed rapidly across the sky, covering larger and larger areas.

I finally figured out how to take Aurora pictures with my newer camera.  The first one is below; I did not get all the branches out of the way.  However, it was great to see the green background behind the red branches.  All my best pictures were done using a 60-second exposure, a tripod, and the "Starry Night" setting on my camera.

I took some  from inside at about 1:30 AM.  Try as I might, I could not pull myself away from viewing the incredible show until about quarter to two.  If I didn't have to work the next day, I probably would have stayed up later, as the Aurora were still going strong.

The crescent waxing moon was not bright enough to wash out the Aurora, but it was still a beautiful sight!