Pasty Central Day in History, November 11th

Written by Pasty Central

On this day in 1913 the winds finally died down in the aftermath of what became known as the Big Blow, Freshwater Fury and the white hurricane.

It was a blizzard with hurricane force winds that had devastated the Midwest, battering and overturning ships on four of the five great lakes. Five days earlier low and high pressure systems had converged to spawn the November gale. What followed was the deadliest and most destructive natural disaster ever to hit the lakes, killing more than 250 people, destroying 19 vessels and stranding 19 others.

Observers reported 90 mile an hour winds and waves over 35 feet in white-out snow squalls. The final price tag of that 1913 storm was over 100 million of today’s dollars, not counting the devastation to surrounding shores.