Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Giant waves hitting Chicago's Lincoln Park during the Great Storm of 1913.

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BY TANDA GMITER | MLIVE

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A TALE OF TWO STORMS

The Great Storm of 1913 was easily the Great Lakes region's largest natural disaster ever.

It was four days of chaos that packed blizzard conditions as well as hurricane-force winds.

If you were on a ship out on the lakes, caught in this unexpected storm, it became something out of nightmare. Mariners reported winds gusting to 100 mph in some spots, amid monster 36-foot waves.

The storm was given several monikers, including "White Hurricane," the "Frozen Fury," and the "Big Blow."

But really, it was two storm systems colliding to produce what forecasters call a "meteorological bomb," that exploded over the Great Lakes from Nov. 7-11.

In that time, more than 250 sailors were lost. At least 12 ships sank. Many more were stranded or smashed against the rocky shorelines from Lake Superior to Lake Erie.

Lake Huron saw the worst of this hellish storm, with eight ships going under and 187 lives lost during one violent six-hour window.

There were some bright spots, like the dramatic rescue of a shipwrecked crew in Lake Superior who had to ride out the storm for 90 hours as their ship became entombed in ice.

For the storm's centennial in 2013, the National Weather Service in Detroit put together a retrospective, recreating the storm's conditions with today's modern forecasting technology.

They compared this modern model with witness accounts from 1913 - and found the old-time sailors were not exaggerating the strange violence of this storm for the ages.

So stay with us as we mark this anniversary by looking at what they found, photos from the storm, and a look at some of the ships lost to this "White Hurricane" of the Great Lakes.

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

This photo shows stacks of life belts outside an undertaker's building in Ontario after the 1913 storm. Some bear the names of ships like the Wexford and James Carruthers.

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A "PRE-STORM," THEN A "WHITE HURRICANE"

The first phase of this storm, which meteorologists call the "Pre-Storm," primarily affected Lake Superior and Lake Michigan beginning on Nov. 7, 1913.

"The Pre-Storm was formidable in its own right, with storm-force winds, heavy snow, lake-effect snow squalls, freezing sprays and high seas," the NWS said. "Several large ships were severely damaged and run aground across the breadth of the lake."

The second phase, called the "White Hurricane," kicked in on Nov. 9, which became the storm's deadliest day, especially for sailors on Lake Huron who were busy ferrying grain and iron ore to ports before winter ended the shipping season.

This was caused by an "unusual atmospheric phasing" of the Pre-Storm to the north and another storm system that was developing over the southeast U.S.

"The resultant 'meteorological bomb' over the eastern Great Lakes would produce prolonged, hurricane-force winds, blinding snow squalls, freezing spray and massive wave trains over the Great Lakes.

"The 'White Hurricane' was the deadliest and most intense phase of the Great Storm of 1913."

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Image courtesy of USGS

Two Storms Colliding

This image shows two storm tracks converging to become a November gale. This type of collision course caused the White Hurricane over the Great Lakes in 1913, and the storm that sunk the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.

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AFTERMATH OF "THE GREAT STORM"

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The front page of the Detroit News from Nov. 13, 1913, showing coverage of the disastrous storm.

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

High winds topped utility poles in Cleveland, Ohio. This picture made the front page of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Nov 11, 1913.

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

A snowed-in streetcar in Cleveland, Ohio after the November 1913 blizzard.

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

A neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio digs out after the White Hurricane of 1913.

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Image courtesy of the National Weather Service

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Image courtesy of the National Weather Service

The NWS simulation of the 1913 storm matched witness accounts:

"By 10 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 9, 1913), hurricane force gusts are projected over most of Lake Huron with maximum winds likely 80 to 90 mph. Sustained winds are likely approaching 60 mph throughout the evening hours."

"Peak wind gusts measured at Detroit (60 mph) and Port Huron (67 mph) occurred around 8 p.m. Nov. 9th. Many boats on Lake Huron sank within a few hours of this time."

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Image courtesy of the National Weather Service

From the NWS simulation for Nov. 10, 1913:

"By 7 a.m. Monday, the low is still over SW Ontario. Widespread hurricane force wind gusts are projected over eastern Lake Superior and northern Lake Michigan. The simulation predicted gusts 80 mph+ in central Lake Superior. "

"The Captain of the Harvester (which survived the storm) reported gusts estimated as high as 100 mph around 4:30 a.m. on the 10th, west of Michipicaten Island in Lake Superior."

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Image courtesy of the National Weather Service

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AT LEAST A DOZEN SHIPS LOST, 250 SAILORS AND CREW

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Image courtesy of the National Weather Service

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and the USGS

Icons scattered across the Great Lakes show the deadly shipwrecks as well as the vessels left stranded by the storm.

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Image courtesy of the National Weather Service

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

This photo shows a funeral procession through the town square at Goderich, Ontario. The horse-drawn hearses are carrying the bodies of five unknown sailors, victims of the 1913 storm.

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Lightship LV-82 Buffalo - Before the Storm

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Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard

Lightship LV-82 Buffalo - After the Storm

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This image shows the lightship LV-82 Buffalo after it was raised in 1915.

The ship, built in Muskegon, sank along with all six of her crew during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. At the time, she was stationed near Point Abino in Ontario, Canada.

She was later located underwater about 2 miles away. She was refloated, repaired and returned to service in 1917.

She was decommissioned in 1936.

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Charles S. Price - Before the Storm

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Charles S. Price - After the Storm

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Charles S. Price - After the Storm

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Images show the Charles S. Price capsized in Lake Huron after the storm. The 524-foot steel-hulled ship was just three years old when it was lost in the White Hurricane, along with all 28 of her crew. She capsized on Nov. 9, about 10 miles northeast of the Fort Gratiot Light House in Port Huron. When she was spotted a day later, there was some confusion over which ship she was. She was visible for several more days before slipping under the waves.

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A DARING RESCUE IN LAKE SUPERIOR

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The L.C. Waldo

The L.C. Waldo was driven onto Gull Rock near the Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior on Nov. 8, 1913. Crews from two U.S. Life Saving Stations were able to reach the broken ship 90 hours later, rescuing all 22 crew, two women and the ship's dog.