Armistice Day Storm was one of worst ever on Great Lakes; Wednesday is 80th Anniversary of the deadly phenomenon
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By Tom Emery
The Great Lakes region is known for its brutal, pounding storms. But one storm stands out among the rest.
Wednesday marks the 80th anniversary of the so-called “Armistice Day Storm,” which blew across the Upper Midwest on November 11, 1940, leaving a trail of destruction from Kansas to Michigan. At least 154 deaths were attributed to the storm, which still rates among the worst in the history of the Lakes.
The storm was the result of a massive low-pressure system that smashed into the Pacific Northwest on November 7, rocking the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington so violently that the structure collapsed. The system then picked up intensity as it raced across the Plains and toward the Midwest, where many residents were blissfully unaware of what was to come.
In the era, weather bureaus normally were open 12-15 hours per day, unlike today’s 24-hour watch, and basic observations were recorded twice a day, at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Data was sent by telegraph, and in time before television, the Internet, and instant messaging, millions were uninformed about the impending disaster.
Temperatures on the morning of November 11 were unseasonably warm, with some thermometers hitting 65 degrees or more. In parts of Minnesota and elsewhere in the Upper Mississippi Valley, duck hunters took advantage of the favorable conditions, and were out in droves on the rivers and inland lakes.
Survivors recalled their amazement at the number of ducks in the skies flying low to the ground that morning, as the animals apparently had a sense of the weather to come.
As the system crashed into the Upper Midwest, conditions deteriorated with frightening speed, and temperatures dropped fifty degrees or more in some locations. Winds on Lake Michigan were clocked at 126 miles per hour, and on Lake Superior, the barometric reading was an eye-opening 28.57 inches. The barometric pressure of November 11 is still among the lowest in Great Lakes history.
Blizzard-like conditions dumped piles of snow in much of the Upper Midwest, including 27 inches in Collegeville, Minn. by the time the storm subsided on November 12. Drifts of 20 feet or more buried automobiles, while highways were closed for days and passenger trains were stranded. Three large ships on northern Lake Michigan were lost, costing anywhere from 58 to 66 lives.
Many of the casualties elsewhere were the duck hunters, some of whom were swept away in rising water or froze to death in the biting chill. Others suffered life-changing injuries due to frostbite. Half of the 49 deaths in Minnesota were reportedly duck hunters.
A head-on collision between a passenger train loaded with duck hunters and a freight train near Watkins, Minn. in white-out conditions resulted in two deaths. Another Minnesota hunter survived by lying between his two Labrador Retrievers for warmth.
Thirteen deaths were counted in both Illinois and Wisconsin, with four in Michigan. Thanksgiving tables were also affected, as some 1.5 million turkeys across Minnesota were lost in the storm.
Countless trees and power lines were downed across the Upper Midwest, including in Milwaukee, where winds of 80 miles per hour pounded the city. A Minnesota newspaper account of the time referred to the gusts as “the winds of hell,” and many survivors reported difficulty breathing in the icy blasts.
The storm induced weather forecasters to extend their duties to 24-hour coverage, and regional forecasting was refined to include more localized reports.
The Armistice Day storm remains one of the legendary storms ever to hit the Great Lakes, ranking with, among others, the massive November 1975 storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior and the November 1913 system that whipped across Lake Huron.
Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Ill. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.
