earth science

List of storms on the Great Lakes

List of storms on the Great Lakes is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of storms on the Great Lakes rather than just read about it. In short: The Great Lakes are known for powerful storms resulting in significant loss of lives and vessels. The first recorded sailing vessel on the upper lakes, the Le Griffon, was lost on its return from Green Bay in 1679.

Key takeaways

List of storms on the Great Lakes belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Connect List of storms on the Great Lakes to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of storms on the Great Lakes from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Great Lakes are known for powerful storms resulting in significant loss of lives and vessels. The first recorded sailing vessel on the upper lakes, the Le Griffon, was lost on its return from Green Bay in 1679. Memorable storms across the lakes have been recorded since that time, often occurring in the month of November, taking men and ships to their death. With the advent of modern technology and sturdier vessels, fewer such losses have occurred. Wind across the large expanse of the lakes allows waves to build to substantial heights (fetches), and the open water can alter weather systems (fog, lake effect snow). Storm winds can alter the lakes as well with large systems causing storm surges that lower lake levels several feet on one side while raising it even higher on the other. The shallowest lake, Lake Erie, sometimes sees storm surge rises of 8 or 10 feet. Seiches cause short-term irregular lake level changes, killing people swept off beaches and piers and even sometimes sinking boats The great tolls caused by Great Lakes storms in 1868 and 1869 were one of the main reasons behind establishing a national weather forecasting service, initially run by the U.S. Army Signal Corps using telegraphs to announce approaching storms in a few port cities.

Lake Erie Gale (1811) In September of 1811, Jacob Butler was headed to Sandusky, Ohio as the new Indian Agent. When he arrived in Buffalo, he found it to be a small town of 40-50 houses and little activity. There were but a few ships in the harbor. The Catherine was a new schooner that had set sail the day before, but was now anchored nine miles up the Canadian shore at Point Ebenew. As it had set sail, it encountered a west wind forcing it to seek shelter. Seeing an opportunity to avoid the long trip around the lake, he crossed the Niagara River and with the help of a guide came upon the ship at anchor after two hours. Soon they were underway with a steady breeze pushing them towards Sandusky. The ship was packed and every possible space in which a person could find repose was occupied. All night they traveled westward, the ship pushed by the wind and the schooner rocking from side to side. With so many people, so closely packed, many became nauseated. The next day, they traveled westward. As night fell on their second day of travel, they expected to see Sandusky in the morning. Everyone had just settled down for the night, when a commotion arose and a gale blew out of the southwest, nearly tipping the vessel over. If the schooner had not been ‘hove to’ and resting quietly, it would have been capsized. (Without shore lights, lighthouse, or modern navigation equipment, Captains would ‘heave to’ at night if they anticipated approaching land/harbor soon. This prevented them from running aground in the dark.) Quickly the crew made the Catherine ready for the storm and let her drift before the winds. As daylight came, the captain was able to get his ship behind Presque Isle (Erie, Pennsylvania), where they rode out the storm for the next 24 hours. The winds persisted so fiercely that everything on deck was swept clear. The crew and passengers remained below deck in the dark, their supply of food gone. On the fourth day of his journey, the gale ended and they were able to resupply from shore. Setting sail for Sandusky, the hope was to make harbor by dark. Once again a gale of lesser force sprang up and pushed the vessel back to Presque Isle. Here, many of the passengers left the ship and hired a wagon for the two-week overland trip. On their next attempt to reach Sandusky, the Catherine made harbor without incident.

Storm in the age of canoes (1825) It was September 1825 when Henry Rowe Schoolcraft recorded a late fall storm on Lake Huron. He was returning from an Indian ‘Congress’ at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. It had been an uneventful six-day trip from the Mississippi River to Michilimackinac. From Mackinac, Schoolcraft was headed towards Detour Pass and up the St. Mary's River to Sault Ste. Marie. On the morning of 5 September, he arose, had breakfast and prepared to strike out in their canoes. The day was cloudy and threatening, so he decided to wait until the next day. Arising at three in the morning, he found the island lost in a fog. They waited until it began to clear at 6:30 a.m. and made their way to Goose Island, ten miles (16 km) distance after three hours. From there, they made their way to Outard Point. Here, the headwind had increased so they hove to about noon and were able to pull into an inlet out of the wind and make camp. Eight hours later, the canoe party was still waiting for the wind to let up. The night brought a heavy rain, piercing the fabric of the tents, soaking everyone and everything. The morning of the 7th found the storm continuing. The increasing violence caused Schoolcraft to have his tent moved back into the trees for more protection. Around three, the sky seemed to be brightening and expectations were that the weather was clearing. But the rains and the wind came with renewed fury from the west and continued late into the night. As the morning of the 8th arrived, Schoolcraft determined to get on with his journey. As the wind was directly out of the west, he was headed east, he ordered the canoes readied and the sails. With sails reefed against the storm, the brigade set out into the lake at 10:00 a.m. Just under three and a half hours brought them 20 miles to the Isle St. Vital, behind which they took refuge from the wind. After a break, they once again set into the gale-force winds, driving for De Tour and the St. Mary's Strait. Here they found the schooner Harriet, down bound, waiting for the winds to subside. It was but another day and they were once again at Sault Ste. Marie.

Early steam on the Lakes (1835) On November 11, 1835, a southwest wind swept across the lakes, taking numerous vessels. This was still early in the life of commercial shipping on the Lakes, so most of the losses were on the lower lakes where settlements were greatest. Buffalo was a major port on Lake Erie and felt the force of the storm as water from the lake forced ships onto the piers and shoreline of the city. The creek rose 20 feet as the wind and the harbor front were swept away.

Big Blow of 1880 PS Alpena sank with loss of 80 passengers and crew.

The 1905 Blow (1905)

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of storms on the Great Lakes

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of storms on the Great Lakes claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of storms on the Great Lakes before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of storms on the Great Lakes ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of storms on the Great Lakes

In research: List of storms on the Great Lakes appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of storms on the Great Lakes in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of storms on the Great Lakes is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Great Lakes-related lists, Lists of disasters in Canada, Lists of disasters in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of storms on the Great Lakes outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of storms on the Great Lakes in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is List of storms on the Great Lakes in simple terms?

Why does List of storms on the Great Lakes matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of storms on the Great Lakes?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of storms on the Great Lakes.