Phil Bencomo / Lake Superior Magazine
Stoney Point, Minnesota: September 1, 2014
The week began with lovely Labor Day weather in Minnesota. On the other side of the lake, in Sault Ste. Marie, the week ended with flooding.
Seiche causes flooding in Sault Ste. Marie
During the early evening hours of September 4, 2014, Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services responded to the Cottage Lane area of the City for a phenomenon known as a SEICHE.
This occurs when wind pressure on one part of the Lake pushes water toward another – like sloshing water in a bowl. It can quickly change the water level by a few inches or feet.
In Sault Ste. Marie and surrounding areas, the seiche caused sudden flooding and forced some residents to evacuate their homes. The water level, oscillating up and down, rose as much as 51 inches, but within 90 minutes, the water level was back to normal. SooToday has a photo gallery.
+ In this 2001 Lake Superior Journal, James R. Marshall wrote about being caught in a seiche near Rossport, Ontario.
+ In other weather news, mammatus clouds appeared in the sky over Duluth this week.
Shipping totals pacing ahead of 2013's numbers
Despite the hubbub surrounding a long winter, heavy ice and late start to the Great Lakes shipping season, cargo moved on the St. Lawrence Seaway system this season already has surpassed 2013 levels.
Weather station installed on Apostle Island
In partnership with the NPS Great Lakes Inventory and Monitoring Network, a remote automated weather station (RAWS) has been installed on the north end of Sand Island.
The station will track information like air temperature, wind speed and snow depth.
+ Ironwood Daily Globe: “A 27-foot Department of Natural Resources boat was named for former DNR deputy director Frank Opolka in a ceremony Wednesday in Marquette.”
+ WLUC’s Rebecca Himmelstein: Results from a new study reveal the daily habits of lake trout.
+ Paul Morralee for the Chronicle-Journal: A lighthouse near Thunder Bay receives a much-needed makeover.