Four days in November
More than a century later, people who live and work on the Great Lakes still talk about the storm of November 1913. From November 7 to 10, 1913, a blizzard with hurricane-force winds swept across the Great Lakes. Sailors and newspapers gave it several names: the Big Blow, the Freshwater Fury, and the White Hurricane.
The storm came together when two low-pressure systems merged and quickly grew stronger over the eastern lakes. It peaked on Sunday, November 9. Storm-force winds came and went over four days, and even experienced captains were caught by surprise.
The toll on the lakes
Ship captains reported waves of 35 feet or more, coming one after another. Snow fell hard enough to blind the men on deck, and ice built up on hulls and rigging. At least a dozen ships sank, and many more were driven aground or wrecked.
Sources do not agree on exactly how many people died. The National Weather Service’s Detroit office puts it at about 235, possibly more, because crew lists were incomplete. Other estimates, including a later Weather Service review, put it at more than 250. Most of the dead were sailors on Lake Huron, where eight ships were lost on a single day, November 9.
What forecasters knew in 1913
The U.S. Weather Bureau did send out warnings. Gale warnings went out on November 7, and warning flags went up at stations around the lakes. But forecasters had no satellites, no radar and no computer models, and the storm turned out stronger and longer than they expected. A ship that had already left port, out of sight of land, had no way to hear that conditions were getting worse.
Today, Great Lakes marine forecasts come out days ahead, and they reach boats by radio and phone. It is one reason the National Weather Service still studies this storm. For how our own weather sets up along the lake, see storm patterns.
The south end of Lake Michigan
Lake Huron took the worst of it, but Lake Michigan did not escape. Huge waves pounded the shore at Chicago and Milwaukee, and newspapers at the time reported breakwaters badly damaged in both cities.
Only one vessel was lost with its crew on Lake Michigan: the lumber barge Plymouth, in northern Lake Michigan near the mouth of Green Bay. All seven men aboard died, and the barge has never been found.
In Michigan City, the damage was to the harbor itself. The storm wrecked part of the elevated walkway, or catwalk, that ran out along the east pier to the pierhead lighthouse. With a gap in the walk, the keepers still had to get to the light. They rigged a breeches buoy, a canvas seat hung from a rope line, and rode it across the gap above the waves. Photographs in the U.S. Lighthouse Society archive, dated November 18, 1913, show both the storm damage and the breeches buoy.
No ship was lost near Michigan City. But the storm showed what a November gale could do to the south shore, even far from the worst of it.
Why it still matters here
The White Hurricane is a reminder that the lake does not need a summer thunderstorm to be dangerous. Late-autumn storms can push big waves onto the Indiana shore, and those waves break over piers and breakwaters just as they did in 1913. If you are ever near the lake when a gale warning is up, watch from the beach, well back from the water, and stay off the piers. Our Lake Michigan page and emergency page have more on lake safety.
The pier light today
The lighthouse those keepers worked so hard to reach still stands at the end of Michigan City’s east pier. Built in 1904, it still has its elevated iron catwalk, and the light and catwalk are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The tower and catwalk are closed to the public, but the beach nearby offers a good view. Nearby, the Old Lighthouse Museum tells the story of Michigan City’s lights and keepers. More local history is on our history page.
Questions
When was the White Hurricane?
November 7 to 10, 1913. It peaked on Sunday, November 9.
How many people died in the 1913 Great Lakes storm?
Sources differ. The National Weather Service’s Detroit office says about 235, possibly more; other estimates put it above 250. Most were sailors on Lake Huron.
What did the 1913 storm do to Michigan City?
It wrecked part of the elevated walkway out to the east pierhead lighthouse. Keepers used a breeches buoy, a seat on a rope line, to cross the gap.
Were any ships lost near Michigan City?
No. The only vessel lost on Lake Michigan was the barge Plymouth, in the northern part of the lake.
Sources: National Weather Service: The White Hurricane storm of 1913 · National Weather Service Detroit: Great Lakes White Hurricane, November 1913 · National Weather Service: 1913 storm retrospective (PDF) · The Canadian Encyclopedia: Great Lakes Storm of 1913 · Wikipedia: Great Lakes Storm of 1913 · Evening News (Sault Ste. Marie), Nov. 10, 1913, via Maritime History of the Great Lakes · Lighthousefriends: Michigan City lighthouses · U.S. Lighthouse Society archive: Michigan City East Pierhead storm damage and breeches buoy, 1913 · National Park Service NPGallery: Michigan City East Pierhead Light Tower and Elevated Walk (NRHP) · Wisconsin Public Radio: searching for the Plymouth