You sound like you understand this kind of thing. At one point in his extended talk, Cooper described what he saw on the weather chart, and you could tell it had knocked him off his stride when he first realized what was happening. I later located a chart that documented the interplay of wind and water on Superior that night. Honestly, I couldn’t really grasp the full gist of it. It must have been hair-raising.
Here’s a humorous aside. Captain Cooper, of the Anderson, told the story of one young seaman who took his maiden voyage aboard the Anderson at the same time the Fitz went down. Before they sailed the young man was gung-ho, and actually said he hoped they encountered a storm. He wanted to see what they were like on Lake Superior.
After the Anderson finally made the safety of Whitefish Bay, the young man thought the worst was over. When he was informed they were going back out to search for survivors, he headed to his bunk. He made out a last will & testament, and sealed it in a bottle with wax. He assumed they would never get back alive.
At least he didn’t get seasick sailing on a river as one of our new hands did.
I knew some old guys who were also out hunting ducks on Lake Winnebago on November 11, 1940. The storm is known as the Armistice Day storm. They were out on an island about a half mile offshore and the storm hit. The lake is so shallow, the wind actually created waves that would've either capsized the boat or they'd have hit bottom with each wave. Again, the temperature dropped about 40 degrees that day and they spent the night on the island underneath their duck boat.
These storms are freaks of nature and when they hit, the weather is so severe you truly need to find shelter or could easily die.