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Stormy Weather: Winds and snow pummeled northeastern Minnesota Thursday into this morning with Hill City, about 85 miles west/northwest of Duluth, winning the regional snowfall total at 10 inches as of 9 a.m. Duluth got about 5 inches as of mid-morning and much of Wisconsin’s south shore earned 2 to 3 inches of snow, while Grand Marais and Hovland came just under Hill City with 9.8 inches and 9.1 inches respectively. The wind was the real star of this storm, though. On the Blatnik Bridge between Duluth and Superior, a wind speed of 72 mph was recorded, the highest wind speed noted locally, according to the National Weather Service’s latest “Public Statements.” Duluth logged 60 mph with high winds, contributing to closure of the city’s Brighton Beach and warnings about Canal Park. High water on Harbor Drive rerouted drop-off traffic to the Luke Combs concert at the DECC. Our co-publisher, Ron Brochu, took camera in hand to focus on the waves kicking up near the Lakewalk, seen in this Canal Park video (and make sure to keep the sound on). Around the region, the winds ranged from the high 50s to high 30s mph along the Minnesota and Wisconsin shores to a low of 30 mph recorded in Hill City (which is maybe why those snows could accumulate).
High winds on Lake Superior looked to affect marine traffic when by late afternoon most commercial vessels appeared to have hunkered into leeward locations, as seen here on yesterday’s AIS – Automatic Identification System – map on Boatnerd.com’s vessel passage page. (For those who don’t already know, Boatnerd.com, as its name implies, is one of the best websites for Great Lakes boat lovers and watchers.) Lake conditions caused the Madeline Island Ferry Line to cancel what it calls its 6 a.m. “ghost boat” to the island and 7 a.m. ferry to the bay this morning, but service resumed by 7:30 a.m. A 3 p.m. trip to the island and a 3:30 p.m. trip from there was added to its service today.
In addition to the waves yesterday, a seiche raised the water level yesterday, captured in a Duluth Ship Canal video by Paul Scinocca showing the water near the top of the piers and lots of pancake ice. The winds in anticipation of the actual storm also put on a great show, giving us our favorite shot of the whole weather
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