The barometer, a sailor’s tool

It was also revealed during the inquest that many captains trusted their barometers more than weather reports and warnings. The captains and sailors that went out on the Lakes were blamed for not taking heed. Many of the sailors at the inquest, however, stated that the storm warning system in place was not reliable; no indication of when the storm would hit was mentioned. If the barometer was stable or rising, it was assumed the weather would remain fair. If the barometer was descending, that meant a storm. According to some people, captains put their hats on their barometers to ignore them.

In the case of the Great Storm, the barometer began to rise. There was also a lull in the storm, causing many captains to believe the worst was over and that they could make their next port.

No one could have predicted just how disastrous the storm would be. With the false hope caused by the lull in the storm, a rising barometer for a brief period of time,
and a lack of reliable storm warnings and understanding of the weather, many ships were caught in what became known as the “white hurricane.”