@lanceaerial: Exactly 50 years ago today, The Arthur Anderson left Two Harbors, Minnesota, on Nov. 9, 1975, around 2:30 p.m., shortly after the Edmund Fitzgerald departed Superior, Wisconsin. The two ships could see each other visually, Cooper reported. Though weather forecasting on the Great Lakes was far less advanced in 1975 than it is today, weather forecasters were aware trouble was coming. At 7 p.m. on Nov. 9, the National Weather Service issued a gale warning for Lake Superior, meaning winds between 34 and 47 knots, or 39 to 54 mph, were expected. They predicted winds from the east to northeast, shifting to north and northwest by the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 10. At about 2 a.m. Nov. 10, the National Weather Surface upgraded the gale warning to a storm warning with winds of 48 to 55 knots (55 to 63 mph) The Fitzgerald and Anderson, in communication with one another, made a decision that would ultimately prove fateful for the Fitz. They would travel together across the lake, and instead of the fastest route through Lake Superior, due east to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula and then directly southeast to Sault Ste. Marie, the ships would take a northerly route, relatively close to the northern, Canadian shoreline of Lake Superior. Feeling the strengthening winds out of the northeast, the captains hoped the Canadian landmass would reduce the impact of the waves. "As we approached Michipicoten Island, we had a noon (weather forecasting) plot — couldn't believe it!" Cooper recalled. "The low had reached Lake Superior and was intensifying dramatically. The plot told us to expect 80-knot (92 mph) winds." Their path now had them in the worst possible place - It meant the ships would now bear the full brunt of the fetch built up from almost tropical storm-force winds blowing over nearly the entirety of the open water of east-west Lake Superior. The captains of the Fitzgerald, the Anderson, would see 30ft + waves that night. Only one of these would make it back to land. Other ships that battled the storm were the Wilfred Sykes along with some Saltwater Vessels that were regularly sailing across the open ocean but Superior that night was one of the worst seas hed seen #edmundfitzgerald #cleveland #detroit #whitefishbay #gordonlightfoot

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Monday 10 November 2025 04:31:35 GMT