Why the White Hurricane of November 1913 was the Great Lakes' worst disaster

More than a century after a violent force was unleashed across the Great Lakes, the details of the devastation are still staggering: At least 250 sailors lost, a dozen ships sunk, and 30 vessels left stranded or smashed against rocky shorelines from Lake Superior to Lake Erie.

The Great Storm of 1913 was easily the region's largest natural disaster ever.

It was four days of chaos that packed blizzard conditions as well as hurricane-force winds. Fast-moving "trains" of huge waves - some topping 30 feet high - lashed ships making their late-season runs.

A TALE OF TWO STORMS

If you were on a ship out on the lakes, caught in this unexpected storm, it became something out of nightmare. Mariners reported winds gusting to 100 mph in some spots, amid monster 36-foot waves.

The storm has been given several monikers over the years, including the "White Hurricane," the "Frozen Fury," and the "Big Blow."

But really, it was two storm systems colliding to produce what forecasters now call a "meteorological bomb" that exploded over the Great Lakes from Nov. 7-10 in 1913.

Lake Huron saw the worst of this hellish storm, with eight ships going under and 187 lives lost during one violent, six-hour window.

There were some bright spots, like the dramatic rescue of a shipwrecked crew in Lake Superior who had to ride out the storm for 90 hours as their ship became entombed in ice.

For the storm's centennial in 2013, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Detroit put together a retrospective, recreating the storm's conditions with today's modern forecasting technology.

They compared this modern model with witness accounts from 1913 - and found the old-time sailors were not exaggerating the strange violence of this storm for the ages.

So stay with us as we mark this anniversary by looking at what they found, share old photos from the storm, and look at some of the ships lost to this "White Hurricane" of the Great Lakes.

TWO STORMS COLLIDING

This image from the National Weather Service shows two storm tracks converging to become a November gale. This type of collision course caused the White Hurricane over the Great Lakes in 1913, as well as the fierce "November Witch" storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.

A "PRE-STORM," THEN A "WHITE HURRICANE"

The first phase of the 1913 storm, which meteorologists call the "Pre-Storm," primarily affected Lake Superior and Lake Michigan beginning on Nov. 7.

"The Pre-Storm was formidable in its own right, with storm-force winds, heavy snow, lake-effect snow squalls, freezing sprays and high seas," the NWS said. "Several large ships were severely damaged and run aground across the breadth of the lake."

The second phase, called the "White Hurricane," kicked in on Nov. 9, which became the storm's deadliest day, especially for sailors on Lake Huron who were busy ferrying grain and iron ore to ports before winter ended the shipping season.

This was caused by an "unusual atmospheric phasing" of the Pre-Storm to the north and another storm system that was developing over the southeast U.S.

"The resultant 'meteorological bomb' over the eastern Great Lakes would produce prolonged, hurricane-force winds, blinding snow squalls, freezing spray and massive wave trains over the Great Lakes.

"The 'White Hurricane' was the deadliest and most intense phase of the Great Storm of 1913."

In 1913, the weather warning system across the Great Lakes was so much different than today's instantaneous sharing of information. Gale Warnings were sent by telegram in those days, reaching more than 100 Weather Bureau stations along the shorelines. Once a warning was received, a volunteer would hoist a flag or put out a lantern to warn passing sailors of poor conditions.

"These warnings were typically hoisted 12 to 24 hours in advance of a storm," NWS staff said. "For sailors leaving port, there was no means of knowing the character of an approaching storm, and vessels beyond the sight of land were unable to obtain any information. In the case of the White Hurricane, Weather Bureau forecasters issued gale warnings on November 7. However, even the forecasters were caught by surprise by the strength and longevity of the powerful storm."

The NWS simulation of the 1913 storm matched witness accounts:

"By 10 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 9, 1913), hurricane force gusts are projected over most of Lake Huron with maximum winds likely 80 to 90 mph. Sustained winds are likely approaching 60 mph throughout the evening hours."

"Peak wind gusts measured at Detroit (60 mph) and Port Huron (67 mph) occurred around 8 p.m. Nov. 9th. Many boats on Lake Huron sank within a few hours of this time."

From the NWS simulation for Nov. 10, 1913:

"By 7 a.m. Monday, the low is still over SW Ontario. Widespread hurricane force wind gusts are projected over eastern Lake Superior and northern Lake Michigan. The simulation predicted gusts 80 mph+ in central Lake Superior. "

This photo shows the lightship LV-82 Buffalo after it was raised in 1915.

The ship, built in Muskegon, sank along with all six of its crew during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. At the time, it was stationed near Point Abino in Ontario, Canada.

The lightship was later located underwater about 2 miles away. It was refloated, repaired and returned to service in 1917.

It was decommissioned in 1936.

CHARLES S. PRICE

This image shows the Charles S. Price capsized in Lake Huron after the storm. The 524-foot steel-hulled ship was just three years old when it was lost in the White Hurricane, along with all 28 of its crew. It capsized on Nov. 9, about 10 miles northeast of the Fort Gratiot Light House in Port Huron. When it was spotted a day later, there was some confusion over which ship it was. It was visible for several more days before slipping under the waves.