Lake Superior churned under the influence of November gales Wednesday, much as it did 30 years ago when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in estimated 30 foot seas on the Big Lake. In each case, an intense autumn storm was involved. Wednesday’s system fell a bit short of the November 10, 1975 storm, which took the ore carrier to the bottom. But, gusts reached 70 m.p.h. over open water 50 miles east of Upper Michigan’s Keewenaw Peninsula and 66 m.p.h. at Houghton County Airport—powerful enough to generate 15-20 foot swells.
The same storm’s winds whipped the Chicago area as temperatures tumbled Wednesday. Gusts reached 39 m.p.h. at O’Hare (36 m.p.h. at Midway), Fall 2005’s second strongest wind to date. The powerful flow delivered early season arctic air, slashing temperatures more than 20°—from 66° at midnight to 42° by 10 p.m.
-Tom Skilling
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
