The Great Storm of 1913

On November 6, 1913 blinding snow and hurricane-force winds began to howl over the Great Lakes, wreaking havoc that would last for days. The deadliest disaster in Great Lakes history would claim 12 vessels and nearly 250 lives before it was done. The storm achieved lethal force when two major weather fronts collided over the relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes, unleashing winds of more than 145 km/h and monster waves more than 111.5 feet high.

The highest possible storm warning flying at the 100 ports of the Great Lakes came too late for many ships. During the inquest that followed, many blamed the sailors and captains for venturing out into the storm in spite of the warnings. Many sailors at the inquest, however, blamed an unreliable weather warning system that did not say when the storm would hit.

Some witnesses testified that if ships had radios on board, they would certainly have been warned of the deadly storm in time. After the Great Storm of 1913, radios were installed on all lake freighters. This Community Stories exhibit uses actual artifacts recovered after the storm, other marine-related artifacts, models and photographs to tell the story of the Great Storm of 1913.