Posted on 05/19/2006 9:12:53 PM PDT by ZGuy
Weather experts have "hindcasted" the storm that sunk the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior during the November 1975.
Hurricane-force gusts and waves coming from an unexpected angle likely contributed to the disaster immortalized by Gordon Lightfoot in the song, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," researchers say.
All 29 crewmembers died.
"During the late afternoon and early evening of Nov. 10, conditions deteriorated rapidly with winds in excess of 69 mph, hurricane-force gusts [over 74 mph] and waves more than 25 feet high," said Thomas Hultquist, science and operations officer at the NOAA National Weather Service forecast office in Negaunee, Mich.
The freighter, thought like the Titanic to be invincible, was heading south. Waves were traveling west-to-east, the new analysis shows. This could have created a hazardous rolling motion. The ship sank about 15 miles from Whitefish Bay.
Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes.
"While high winds on Lake Superior are not rare, it is unusual for the waves to get that high on the lake," said Schwab. "It's unlikely that Captain Ernest McSorley, the skipper of the Edmund Fitzgerald, had ever seen anything like that in his career."
The findings are detailed in the May issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
I don't know . . . I would think that the water on Lake Superior is extremely cold under normal circumstances at that time of year, so I'm not sure how much it would have affected one ship out of all the ones that were sailing that evening.
Welcome aboard, and thanks for serving!
Yes, I saw that particular edition on Discovery. I watched in awe and fear. I love the water, but I am deathly afraid of it too, having been caught in a riptide as an altogether too brave and foolhardy teenage girl.
Those are extremely interesting shows.
Been there. The Whitefish Point Museum is a tear jerker. In the city of Sault St. Marie, there is a 'grounded' freighter for tourists to walk about. In the belly of the hold is a ripped in half lifeboat - from the Fitz. http://www.thevalleycamp.com/
Now imagine navigating a 800ft. freighter thru the Soo Locks in adverse weather. Really cool to watch from the observation platform!
https://webcam.crrel.usace.army.mil/soo/
When you say Michigan, the first thing that comes to mind to out of staters is Detroit, sorry to say. There are some nifty places to visit.
http://images.google.com/images?q=pictured%20rocks%20lake%20shore&oe=UTF-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
The Anderson was the first freighter thru the Soo Locks for the 2006 shipping season.
Huron is pretty as well, but I think you have seen the best of the them all between Superior and Michigan :)
From the second link (which I will return to):
Why are the cameras on delay?
A. For homeland security reasons the US Army has asked that all Web Cams associated with the US Army be on delay. If these cameras are not placed on delay they are subject to possible shut down.
GOOD TO KNOW!
I have to see it.
I live 10 miles from Lake Michigan. Born and raised here.
Though it does not have the status of one of the 'Great Lakes', Lake St. Clair is ranked the #1 Muskie fishing lake.
Are you referring to Michigan or Superior? When I growing up my father insisted we take a trip around Lake Superior one summer. It gets pretty desolate and like Maine, fall comes early. But it was among 3 things that I first remember taking my breath away in some sort of humbling and inspiring way (the other 2 were the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the Maine coast).
On the Michigan side?
The beauty, even in that pic, is just stunning, Indy.
Yes, Lake Superior! I find it haunting. Now that you have told me about the desolate parts, I am all the more intrigued.
I had no idea you lived so close to Lake Michigan. You're surrounded in beauty.
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