White Hurricane

Dave Brown has really done the necessary, comprehensive research. His description of Great Lakes' shipping is 100% accurate. The reporting is factual and not embellished with contrived dialogue. I was an engineer in Great Lakes and ocean ships, one cited in the book, and can visualize the events he described and emphasize with the crewmen's situations.

Ninety years ago this November, one of the worst disasters in Great Lakes history took place over a period of four days, when twelve ships foundered and thirty-one were stranded, and 253 sailors drowned during the deadliest storm ever to hit the Great Lakes. The actual toll was probably higher, but no single agency in 1913 kept track of vessels lost or sailors killed. According to this author, the death toll did not include "the commercial fishermen, hunters, or anglers who also lost their lives."At least three books have been written about this storm, including "Fresh Water Fury" (1960), "Ships Gone Missing" (1992), and this book by David G. Brown, published in 2002. One of the things that sets Brown's book apart from the others is his meticulous meteorological reconstruction of the 1913 storm that raged for four days in early November and sank ships on Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron (the worst hit) and Erie.According to the author's research, the weather in early November 1913 was remarkably dry and balmy, tempting the shipping companies into making one last run before the end of the season. The U.S. Weather Bureau issued storm warnings on November 7, 8, and 9 but these did not come close to suggesting the true ferocity of the 'White Hurricane.' In fact the Weather Bureau never did post hurricane warnings--two red flags with black centers, displayed one above the other--on the Great Lakes, preferring to reserve that warning for tropical storms even though the four-day storm that struck the Lakes was of hurricane intensity.This book is organized as a temporal narrative of the storm, starting on Wednesday, November 5 as freighters such as the 'Charles S. Price' took on loads of coal, railroad ties, and iron ore for their last trips of the season. The 'Price's' Assistant Engineer Milton Smith had such a strong premonition about the forthcoming voyage that he quit his job and went home. He would later be asked to identify the bodies of his shipmates that washed up on Huron's icy shores.On November 6, ships on western Lake Superior were already experiencing rough weather, but nothing that qualified as a full-fledged November gale--not yet. In Detroit, a prominent halo ringed the moon, perhaps bringing to mind the rhyme: "When halos ring the moon or sun/ Rain is coming on the run." In the case of this particular storm, it was a warning of the ferocious blizzard that would paralyze Cleveland and other cities on the Lakes, and add to the woes of the ships that were already battling life-threatening gales.The empty wooden bulk freighter 'Louisania' was the first casualty of the storm. On Saturday, November 8, the onrushing gale stranded her near Port des Mortes on Lake Michigan, where she burned to the waterline. Up on Lake Superior, the storm "began picking apart the 'L.C. Waldo' shortly after midnight near the Keweenaw Peninsula." Her sailors were some of the lucky few to be picked up from their stranded, ice-bound freighter, but they wo

I read this book when my father-in-law bought a 40 footer and docked it in Port Huron with easy access to Lake Huron. Living in Michigan most of my life and now in Chicago, I have always appreciated the beauty of The Great Lakes. As we cruise the lake in all its beauty and glory, I can't help but wonder just what scatters the floor of Lake Huron or any of the others. This book illustrates the dramatic account of the only Great Lakes hurricane, if such a thing could happen.This book was no less than amazing and will really open the eyes of anyone that takes the fury of the beautiful Great Lakes for granted.

While the movie "The Perfect Storm" chronicles a great "Nor'Easter," it can't hold a candle to the White Hurricane of 1913. The stories of heroism, foolishness, kindness, and ruthlessness serve to highlight the ferocity of the great storm. And the eerie coincidences, premonitions, and unexplained happenings before, during, and after the storm make this one exciting ride.The author does a good job detailing the storm, but some maps would have been helpful. More photos of boats (no, they're not called ships!) and some photos of key characters would have been nice, as well. There is a lot of information on Great Lakes history, so he should have been able to come up with such artifacts.My grandfather was captain of a "longboat" on the lakes, and he was a sailor in WWI in the Atlantic, and WWII in the Pacific. He said a storm on the Great Lakes was a lot worse than ocean storms because of all the reasons the author details, but also because the water is in a much smaller "container" than in the ocean...so the power multiplies because it has nowhere to go. And the results are horrifying. I've lived in the Great Lakes area all my life. If you want some "extreme" excitement, come and ride out a November gale. Or, read this book for an excellent "virtual" ride!

As a Coastie recently stationed on the USCGC ACACIA out of Charlevoix, MI. I found this book to be very helpful in my learning about the Great Lakes geographically, meteorilogically, historically. If you are at all interested in Great Lakes lore then you will thoroughly enjoy this book as well as learn a few things you may not have known, such as why lake storms are different from those on the sea.