Marina and Veterans Home in Silver Bay Affected in Storm

More Than 6 Inches of Rain Fell in Around 3 Hours

Heavy rainfall, flashes of lightning and booming thunder hit towns on the North shore of Lake Superior Wednesday night.

A flashflood warning was issued in Silver Bay and the surrounding areas, where more than 6 inches of rain fell over 3 and a half hours.

The silver bay Marina was almost empty, even well after the storm, because experienced boaters have a healthy respect for how unpredictable the lake can be

“People are not going out. They’re not trusting the lake,” said Ian Wallin, a Marina Aid at the Silver Bay Marina.

Wallin said one of the marina’s boats was just a few inches of water away from sinking.

“The rising level was to the point where if we weren’t there it was going down.”

It wasn’t just the marina that was affected. The Minnesota Veterans Home parking lot was flooded with water up to people’s knees.

“A nurse came to me and said your car is almost under water so we ran out and this entire parking lot looked like a pond. Looked like a lake,” said Luke Patterson, who works at the Veterans Home.

A few cars were deep in the water and had to be pushed out

“Inside my car it was up to my seats, so the car was filled with water,” Patterson explained.

But the flood left as fast as it came, leaving only photos of the incident, and the wet interiors of the cars, as evidence.

Despite the storms that hit the Silver Bay area, Tettegouche state Park wasn’t affected as badly as other parts of the city. Despite the drizzly weather, people are still visiting the park, and roads leading to it are open, and there were no washouts.  

The park is open and campsites can still be reserved.