REMEMBERING THE EDMUND FITZGERALD: What Would A TV Forecast Look Like on November 9, 1975?

NORTHLAND – Just after 2 p.m. on November 9, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald left port in Superior, Wisconsin for what would be its final voyage.  Over the next 27 hour, the ship was damaged from the weather conditions it encounter while trying to cross Lake Superior.  It was around 7:15 p.m. the next day, November 10, 1975, that the ship sunk not far from Whitefish Bay, Michigan.

The conditions on Lake Superior were caused by a strengthening low-pressure system that crossed the lake at the same time the Edmund Fitzgerald was doing the same.  It was known that a storm was on its way when the ship headed out, but did they know that it was going to be as bad as it was?

Since it was not typical for TV stations in the Northland to have a full fledge newscast on Sunday evenings in 1975, Chief Meteorologist Rusty Mehlberg takes a unique look back at what might have been seen by people watching the local news the evening of November 9, 1975 for a complete weather segment.

In hindsight, this weather segment would have been outdated by a few hours, since the Gale Warning issued Sunday evening was upgraded to a Storm Warning not long after midnight.  This increased the forecasted wind speeds to over 60 mph, and waves likely over 15 feet in spots.

Years later, computer analysis of this storm determined that waves were at least 20 feet and higher at the eastern end of Lake Superior by the time the Edmund Fitzgerald was at that same point.  To put it simply, it was the wrong place for any ship, let alone one that had been damaged and listing for hours, to be at.

Because of the sinking, changes were made to gather more data around Lake Superior to improve forecasting on and near the lake. In the 50 years since, advancements have indeed made the lake safer to travel on.  Hopefully, that will continue to be the case going forward, because, as I have said before, if a weather event happened in the past, it could happen again. Whether it becomes another tragedy or just another day in the Northland is up to us.