Monday, October 29, 2012

Breaking News - Hey! SLOW DOWN SANDY!

THESE ARE 21 FOOT HIGH WAVES THEY ARE FORECASTING - Wooo-oo! (Click to enlarge) US Coast Guard is saying maximum wave heights could hit 37 feet!

Wendy's brother Doug called me this afternoon and sent me an e-mail with this map so we decided to come down to Point Edward to see how strong those winds really were.  Neither one of us have ever seen a weather map with a wave prediction showing waves this high over such a large area.  You can see that this projection shows that they expect the waves to be 20 to 21 feet high at 9:00 AM Greenwich mean time (GMT) which translates into 5 in the morning. 

Here now but just a roaring wind. Wave height approx 8-10 ft. The seas are building and expected to crest around 6 AM with possible 21 footers. I spoke with the marina manager Mike Miller and he said they were expecting up to 30 ft. Twenty feet would be bad enough given the land is only 10 ft or so above the normal water level. However, US Coast Guard Radio was calling for peak wave heights of 37 feet. Wow!

The condo sea walls of course are only about  6 ft above recent levels and I see that the water is already up about 3 ft. so this is now where the water was when we moved here 15 years ago. We drove along the shore stopped at the various lookout points and the lake is mean looking but no threat yet unles you were out in a boat. All freighter shipments have been stopped with most freighters held in the St Clair and St Mary's rivers according to the local gossip. We didn't see any ships. Here at our marina a surprising number of boats are still in the water but a lot are stored away.

I wonder how this storm will compare with the Great Storm of 1913. I think the main difference is that we have much better warning systems in place so the boats all know the situation and can avoid the area.

READ THIS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Storm_of_1913

Here's some emails:

Re: Fw: Re: Storm watching - WOW!

Monday, October 29, 2012 7:57 PM
From:
To:
"Erin Carroll"
Uncle Doug  and Daphne are coming down early. You gotta get here and see all these birds trying to fly against the wind. The wind is roaring like a freight train but the best part, with the really high waves isn't expected to start until tomorrow around 6:00 AM and cresting around 2:00 PM with predicted wave rights of 21ft. The water is already up more than a couple of feet and there is truly a high level of wind noise even inside the condo.  We left London around 4 in the afternoon and when we got here we drove along the lake front and stopped in the usual outlooks. The waves were rolling and around 8 to 10ft. Lots of cars in the parking lots, like a summer afternoon when everyone is out watching the water.  Across the river in Port Huron you could see unusually long lineups of cars watching the river and the lake. Parents and kids were having fun on the waterfront playing in the wind and the rain and getting drenched with the blowing surf.  Must be fun in a car up on the Bluewater bridge tonight.

From: Carroll
Subject: Re: Storm watching
To: "Sarah Jane Steele (Taleski)"
Cc: "Doug Taleski"
Date: Monday, October 29, 2012, 6:22 PM

Hi Sarah and Calvin
Here now but just a roaring wind. Wave height approx 8-10 ft. The seas are building and expected to crest around 6 AM with possible 21 footers. I spoke with the marina manager Mike Miller and he said they were expecting up to 30 ft. but I didn't see that predicted anywhere else. Twenty feet would be bad enough given the land is only 10 ft or so above the normal water level.

The condo sea walls of course are only about  6 ft above recent levels and I see that the water is already up about 3 ft. so this is now where the water was when we moved here 15 years ago. We drove along the shore stopped at the various lookout points and the lake is mean looking but no threat yet unles you were out in a boat. All freighter shipments have been stopped with most freighters held in the St Clair and St Mary's rivers according to the local gossip. We didn't see any ships.

I'll keep you up to date tomorrow morning as it's getting dark.

Uncle Tim

--- On Mon, 10/29/12, Sarah Jane Steele (Taleski) wrote:

From: Sarah Jane Steele (Taleski)
Subject: Storm watching
To: "Tim and wendy Carroll"
Date: Monday, October 29, 2012, 4:47 PM

Hi Aunt Wendy and Uncle Tim,

My parents tell me that you are on your way to Sarnia to watch the storm- Calvin and I are jealous.

If you get any good pictures can you send them our way?  Calvin would love to see it!

XO
Sarah 
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