'Great Lakes tidal wave' causes 5-foot immediate rise in water on Lake Superior shoreline

Mlive.com ^ | September 05, 2014 | Mark Torregrossa

[cripplecreek]

A seiche, which is the Great Lakes version of a tidal wave, hit the eastern shoreline of Lake Superior near Sault Saint Marie around 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014.

The seiche (pronounced SAYSH) was caused by a dramatic change in wind direction due to severe thunderstorms. The wind was blowing out of the southeast for a long time period, pushing water along the shoreline out into Lake Superior. Then a line of strong thunderstorms moved through, and the accompanying west wind blew the water back into shore.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported a 65-inch change in water levels. First the water lowered by 14 inches and then quickly rose 51 inches.

Soo Today reported that residents grew concerned as water levels encroached on homes. Water had returned to normal levels within 90 minutes, and residents were urged to test their water before drinking it.

[cripplecreek]

Aye, t'was a mighty slosh.

[cripplecreek]

I've heard of a seiche but never seen it happen by more than a couple of inches.



Michigan legislative action thread

[Charles Henrickson]

It was a Soo-nami.

[Lurker]

I’ve seen one on the Chicago side of Lake Michigan that was two feet. Pretty impressive when it hit the breakers along Lake Shore Drive.

[cripplecreek]

LOL

[cripplecreek]

And not nearly as confusing to spell as a Saultname.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
--Gordon Lightfoot

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
Then later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
When the wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too
'Twas the witch of November come stealin'
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck
Sayin' "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya"
At seven PM a main hatchway caved in
He said, "Fellas, it's been good to know ya"
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams
The islands and bays are for sportsmen
And farther below, Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early

[buffyt]

Sounds like the waves that crash over 17 Mile Drive in California, they have to close off that part of the road. it is awesome to watch.

[Celtic Conservative]

One of these hit Lake Huron in '95, and from the same cause. There was an empty lot next to my parents lake house. a crane later had to extricate a stranded boat from the front yard of that lot.

CC

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Aye, t’was a mighty slosh.”

Has the Edmund Fitzgerald radioed in? ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

D’0h! 7 minutes behind, and it’s been good to know ya!

*SMIRK*

[Jack Hydrazine]

Don’t you mean a seichenami?

[cloudmountain]

It was a Soo-nami.

Hahaha! GOOD one.

[Brother Cracker]

[cloudmountain]

NOTHING more beautiful than that stretch of coastline!

One DOESN'T drive it, though, during the wet season, from mid-October to mid-April. Those are when storms MIGHT come in out of the Pacific.

BEST to drive it in the dry season, the other six months. No use "tempting" mother nature.

[cripplecreek]

The great lakes piers have taken a lot of lives in high winds. A huge number of them have been teenage boys.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I was on the lakes as a fuel supplier and never saw anything like this.

[Jack Hydrazine]

This kinda reminds me of the ice heaves that hit a lake in Minnesota that were pushed up on shore because of strong winds.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/minnesota-ice-wave-watch-expanding-1886634

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/ice-tsunami-video-photos-wall-ice-rises-lake-19166280

[Celtic Conservative]

And no matter if a bigger one happens on any other of the great lakes, when it happens up north it will always be Superior.

CC

[Larry Lucido]

I’m glad the Gordon Lightfoot wasn’t sailing today.