'Great Lakes Cyclone' expected to hit Chicago area

[Purveyor]

Source: SunTimes

BY ZOE BARKER Chicago Sun-Times

They’re already calling it “The Great Lakes Cyclone” — so get ready for a windy Tuesday.

A high wind warning is in effect for Northern Illinois, with gusts expected to surpass 55 mph Tuesday and sustained winds coming in between 35 and 40 mph.

It’s all thanks to a low pressure system cyclone moving down from northern Minnesota, bringing storms we have seen in decades, experts say.

“It will rank among the most powerful cyclones in the last hundred years,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Allsopp.

“This low pressure system is equivalent to a category three hurricane,” Allsopp said. Though cyclones behave differently over land, Allsopp said the storm will be “very strong and intense.”

---

Worst Storm in 70 Years Predicted; Strong Winds, Tornado Possible

The National Weather Service is expecting damaging winds in excess of 70 mph, brief torrential downpours and a possible tornado to move into the area after midnight.

ComEd spokesman Matt Levin said the company would not send out crews until conditions are safe.

"Extreme weather could create unsafe conditions that would delay our restoration efforts," Levin said. "We have crews ready. We just can't mobilize until it's safe. We can't send crews out during a tornado."

Strong thunderstorms, followed by violent winds, will hit in the early morning hours Tuesday and remain through Wednesday night. According to a CBS Chicago weather story, the National Weather Service reports that the storm could be the most powerful in 70 years.

There is a chance for tornadoes, according to CBS2's Mary Kleist. The rain will be the heaviest during Tuesday's rush hour.

More...

http://plainfield.patch.com/articles/forecasters-predicting-worst-storm-in-70-years-70-mph-winds-tornado-possible

Read more: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2833950,wind-alert-storm-chicago-area-102510.article

[Purveyor]

1. This puppy came out of nowhere. I heard nothing of this yesterday. Mid-Michigan projecting winds

to peak around 60 mph on Wednesday with 49mph gusts starting tomorrow.

This isn't just one of those 'blow threw' storms.

Strange, indeed.

[dmr]

2. Our weatherman said it's historic, compared it to Amistice Day, 1940

We're suppose to get sustained winds of 35-40mph, and gusts of 60 and above. Waves in Lake Michigan as high as 25-30 feet, or more, and lakeshore/reef waves of 10 feet or more.

Lots of info on Google:
http://www.google.com/search?q=armitice+day+1940&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=armistice+day+1940&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=iv&ei=L1PGTJqiGMWenwefyNx_&start=0&sa=N&fp=499faa430ac3503f

[Angry Dragon]

3. Windy and stormy in Minnesota right now

[midnight]

31. Same here in Wisconsin....

[AtheistCrusader]

4. La Nina here on the west coast.

We just got hammered with early 'november' storms. Going to be an ugly winter, looks like.

[Odin2005]

26. Nowhere? Naw, the models were predicting it a week ago.

Last week I was telling everyone that the models were saying there would be a strong storm around here this week, people told me to shut up when I said the word "snow". :rofl:

[TroglodyteScholar]

55. Um, it's been in the forecast for my area (southeast WI) for 3 or 4 days.

Still brutal, though.

[nofurylike]

5. K&R keep safe Great Lakes folks! nt

[Art_from_Ark]

6. Is this going to be worse than the storm

that sank the Edmond Fitzgerald?

[Downwinder]

8. That storm was ranked number 5 with this one as number 2.

[Occulus]

20. Are lower numbers "better", or "worse"?

Thanks for putting that earworm into my head. I've wanted to re-arrange that song for a long time now...

[prolesunited]

7. The sane part of me wants to stay safe at home

The voyeur in me wants to drive to the lake and take pics. Wonder which part wins tomorrow.

[Delphinus]

14. If the voyeur

in you wins out, will you post pics? I'd love to see them. Be safe.

[tavalon]

16. I hope the stay at home part

Lots of years with Hurricanes and we lost many photobugs each and every storm.

[hedgehog]

36. Stay away from the shore! We have accidents every year here

in Oswego when kids at the college decide to go out and look at the waves during a storm. They're standing out on a "safe" rock and get knocked into the Lake by a high wave.

[mopinko]

44. +1

[kestrel91316]

51. My sister and BIL are in SE WI, live 4 blocks from Lake Michigan.

Hope they REFRAIN from going to the lake to take pics. They will probably stay home and comfy and watch it on tv - they aren't too much the risk-takers, lol.

[prolesunited]

53. I decided to stay home

If a tree limb falls on my car, I'm screwed. And if I get hurt, I'm totally screwed. I'm not as far north (south tip of lake) and it doesn't seem as bad here.

[Radical Activist]

9. When scientists say that climate change will result in extreme, unpredictable weather

this is the sort of thing they're talking about. We most likely won't have to wait several more decades for this to happen again. These kind of weather events will be more common.

[SpiralHawk]

11. +1

Your nailed it.

[RantinRavin]

21. So what was the reason

for it back in 1940 ?

[happyslug]

23. A weather situation that is expected to become more "Normal" with Global Warming

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_Day_Blizzard

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/200011/10_steilm_blizzard-m/

[hedgehog]

37. Global climate change didn't just start in 1998 with Al Gore,

it's been developing for centuries. Which part of "storms like this will happen more often " don't you get?

[kestrel91316]

52. Oh, go crawl back under your rock. You people are pathetic.

[Uncle Joe]

35. I agree, Radical Activist. n/t

[Lochloosa]

10. "This low pressure system is equivalent to a category three hurricane,”

I call BS on this one.

A high wind warning is in effect for Northern Illinois, with gusts expected to surpass 55 mph Tuesday and sustained winds coming in between 35 and 40 mph.

That's a strong thunderstorm in Florida. A Cat 3 hurricane will effectively remove your roof.

[mikeytherat]

12. Hyperbolic BS

Cat Three: Sustained winds of 111–130 mph

To even be considered a Cat 1, the max sustained winds have to be at least 74 mph.

mikey_the_rat

[safeinOhio]

13. Like a half inch of snow in Florida

Blizzard of the century

[Occulus]

19. That's actually a real problem for people who don't deal with snow regularly

If you don't know how to drive on snowy/icy roads, or have never had to deal with it, getting behind the wheel in such conditions is literally putting your life on the line, and the lives of other drivers.

Sure, we can mock them for emptying store shelves, and bundling up like the Inuit for 40-degree temperatures, but that's because we here in northern climes deal with it every year. If you have lived in subtropical climes all your life, though, even a half-inch of snow can be downright deadly because neither you nor anyone near you knows how to handle it.

[zen_bohemian]

30. Yep, we deal with this stuff for several months, we can't get away from it

we have no choice but to learn to drive in the ice and snow. The first snow our folks are slipping/sliding, but it only takes a day or so to get back into the winter driving mode :)

[hedgehog]

38. As a certified connoisseur of driving in the snow*, I'd like to make a comment:

There are many kinds of snow. The first snow fall of the year is very wet, almost melting. The first flakes tend to hit warm pavement, melt, then re-freeze as a base coat of ice. As snow accumulates, people drive on it and compact it into another layer of ice. The snow that does accumulate is very loose and acts as a lubricant. Thus, to quote my father, driving through that first snow fall is like driving on cold cream. Some people may have forgotten how to drive in snow, but those first few days are some of the worst driving days all winter.

Later on, the road surface is saturated with salt. Also, later snows are colder, drier and more granular. It may be harder getting out of your driveway, but around here, most of the roads are cleared to bare pavement. It is hard to drive during an actual snow storm if the snow accumulates faster than the road crews can handle it.** Usually by mid-January, the biggest hazard from the snow comes from trying to exit a parking lot and trying to see oncoming traffic over the mounds of snow on either side of the driveway.

*
"Fulton, New York has seen 55 inches (over four feet) of snow over the past nine days."

http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/55-inches-snow-fulton-new-york

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/snow_totals_for_fulton_vary_de.html





**

[Thor_MN]

57. Our "Halloween Blizzard" in '91 taught us to spray brine on the roads before the first snow

The salt residue present later in the year prevents the precipitation from adhering to the road surface, so now we pre-salt the roads before the first snow. In '91 we were driving on multi-inch deep ice washboard interstates for weeks. Rattle your fillings out of your teeth rough.

Now, a little brine out of tank truck keeps the ice from sticking, too bad it doesn't do anything for the idiots that have no finesse in snow driving.

[dixiegrrrrl]

45. So true.

I have lived in snowy areas and know how to drive ( when necessary) in snow,
and I have lived/live in sub-tropical south where 2 inches of snow results in cars careening all over the road.

In both cases, I have learned to stay at home if possible and avoid the idiot drivers who insist on going at or over the speed limit no matter how much snow is on the ground.

[alcibiades_mystery]

29. They really don't know how to drive in it

It's weird and embarrassing.

[Occulus]

18. This is the Great Lakes.

Storms are frequently worse than predicted around here.

I think I might stay home from work tonight.

....shit.

[Odin2005]

28. They were probably talking central pressure, not wind speed.

This is a monster of a temperate cyclone, but temperate cyclones have less tightly-spaces isobars than tropical systems, so the winds are less.

[Evasporque]

47. I'm in Milwaukee...I'll keep you posted...

We had a gust before 11 a.m. at 48 knots...

Waves on the Lake predicted to be 20' plus...on the Michigan side.

Here are some live wave action views..

Holland



Grand Haven

http://www.ghsteelheaders.com/WeatherandWebcam.aspx

[Randomthought]

50. they are referring to the barometric pressure

not the wind speed

[Thor_MN]

56. Might I suggest a reading for comprehension class?

No one is claiming that the WINDS are the same, they are saying the AIR PRESSURE (the low) is the same. The air pressure in the center of this low is equivalent to the low in the eye of a Cat 3 hurricane. It doesn't have the energy from warm ocean water to create the winds of a hurricane, so the winds are much lower.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

15. Thanks for the heads up on this..

I'm in Ireland right now, but Mr. Wonderful is back home in Chicago. I hope we still have power because I've tried to call him and all I'm getting is the answering machine. I realize it's not even 6:00 am yet, but I can usually get a hold of him this time in the morning. I just want to tell him to be careful today as far as the weather's concerned. As for going down to see the lake in action, I'd love to see those 25 to 30 foot waves in action, that would be absolutely awesome. If anybody is brave enough to attempt it, I'd love to see the pictures. I'm bookmarking this so I can follow this thru the day. Be safe everyone in Chicago...

[Occulus]

17. “This low pressure system is equivalent to a category three hurricane,”

:wow:

WHAAAAaaaaaat??

I live in SW MI. There are lots of old-growth trees mere feet from the house my apartment is part of.

Fuck. Me.

:scared:

[zen_bohemian]

22. Rain and windy in ND, we are under a blizzard warning for this evening

our saving grace is later in the week it will be highs above freezing, so hopefully it will all melt off.

[AngryAmish]

24. The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down...

[Thor_MN]

58. The Gales of November blow early this year.

I remember the night the Fitz went down, it was all over the news in Duluth and it was blowing hard on the North Shore. My dad, who still lives there emailed this afternoon to say the wind swung around and waves went from 1-3' to 6-8' in short order. He said that it felt like the storm that took the Fitz.

[AngryAmish]

60. I was only 7 then

I heard that it really was not a big deal until the song came out.

I was at the maritime museum in Michigan where they have the bell. Beautiful part of the country. Sad story, with an appropriate dirge.

[madokie]

25. This system came through my neck of the woods a couple days ago

http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?ID=LOT&lat=41.84999847&lon=-87.65000153&label=Chicago%2C+IL&type=N0R&zoommode=pan&map.x=400&map.y=240¢erx=400¢ery=240&prevzoom=zoom&num=6&delay=15&scale=1&showlabels=1&smooth=0&noclutter=1&showstorms=0&rainsnow=1&lightning=1

We got a couple inches of rain at most but a lot of wind yesterday which was welcome as it got the rest of the walnuts out of the trees so I can finally rake them up

Stay safe up there in the lakes region

edit for a missing E

[Odin2005]

27. We are getting wind and rain in Minnesota right now.

Snow tonight.

[midnight]

32. Wow snow......

[surrealAmerican]

33. Well, that ought to clear away all those campaign signs.

[Cal Carpenter]

34. Wind is picking up here in SE Michigan

And the barometric pressure must be plummeting - I am getting a weird headache. I am not a migraine person but I almost wonder if this is what it feels like.

[Botany]

39. Chicago Cyclone to Strike Today?

Source: Time

The Midwest is set to weather its worst storm in 70 years.

It's being called the Great Lakes Cyclone, and Twitter users are calling it the Chiclone. It's expected to hit the Chicago area
this morning, with winds up to 55 miles per hour. Hurricane-force winds are possible as the storm crosses Lake Michigan.

Chicago is expecting strong, straight-line winds, which will hit their peak — of course — during the morning rush hour.
Midwesterners, we know you live in the Windy City, but maybe you ought to work from home today.

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/10/26/chicago-cyclone-to-strike-today/

---

hang on midwest! Storm to hit Ohio around 1 PM

[PeaceNikki]

40. We had a tornado touch down in Wisconsin this AM

It's " wrath of god weather" today. :o

[madrchsod]

41. just starting here in the center of northern illinois

winds gusting to around 25-30. nothing sustained yet...

[AngryOldDem]

42. Squall line just blew through central Indiana.

And, yes, it was like watching a hurricane with the rain and wind.

Tp give you some idea how fast this is moving, at 5 a.m. the line was just east of St. Louis. It blew through the Indy metro area between 9:30 and 10 a.m. Now, as of 11 a.m., it's pushing into Ohio. Numerous tornado warnings -- it seems like the line is getting stronger as it gets east of Indianapolis -- and some reports of damage.

Now we're waiting for the wind to kick in.

Things were looking pretty bad so I took the dog and myself downstairs. I came up briefly and it was raining torrents; a few minutes (and I mean a FEW minutes) later, it was over. Light showers.

[HereSince1628]

43. And possibly to have high wind remaining until tomorrow night...

at least according to the weather folks the wind warnings go on til 7 tomorrow.

[zen_bohemian]

48. sustained winds in ND 40 mph gusting to 50

just rain right now, no snow yet.

[dixiegrrrrl]

46. check out this animated map of the storm. cyclone indeed.

http://www.intellicast.com/National/Radar/Current.aspx?location=default®ion=CSG&animate=true

[Odin2005]

49. Minnesota's lowest barometric pressure record has been broken. 962.6 milibars.

My God, this thing is a MONSTER!

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=dlh&product=PNS&issuedby=DLH

...MINNESOTA ALL TIME LOWEST PRESSURE RECORD BROKEN THIS MORNING...
...PRESSURE IS STILL FALLING AND WILL CONTINUE INTO THE AFTERNOON...

REMEMBER THAT THIS INFORMATION IS PRELIMINARY. THE LOW IS STILL
STRENGTHENING SO THE VALUES LISTED BELOW ARE LIKELY TO CHANGE.

AN UNUSUALLY INTENSE LOW WAS AFFECTING THE STATE OF MINNESOTA THIS
MORNING. AT 1013 AM CDT...THE AUTOMATED WEATHER OBSERVING SYSTEM AT
AITKIN MINNESOTA RECORDED A 962.3 MILLIBAR /28.42 INCHES/ PRESSURE.
THIS BREAKS THE ALL TIME MINNESOTA STATE RECORD FOR THE LOWEST
OBSERVED PRESSURE.

THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 962.6 MB SET ON NOVEMBER 10 1998 AT ALBERT
LEA AND AUSTIN IN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA.

IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT DULUTH BROKE THEIR PRESSURE RECORD. AS
OF 1028 AM...THE PRESSURE AT DULUTH WAS 962.9 MILLIBARS /28.44
INCHES/. THIS BREAKS THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 964.3 MILLIBARS WHICH
OCCURRED ON NOVEMBER 10 1998.

PRESSURE RECORDS AT INTERNATIONAL FALLS WERE ONLY AVAILABLE BACK TO
1948. THE LOWEST PRESSURE PREVIOUSLY AT THAT LOCATION WAS 971.9
MILLIBARS ON OCTOBER 10 1949. THE PRESSURE AS OF 1024 AM WAS 967.4
MILLIBARS /28.57 INCHES/. THEREFORE...INTERNATIONAL FALLS ALSO BROKE
THEIR PRESSURE RECORD.

THE LOW CONTINUES TO DEEPEN AND THE PRESSURE WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO
FALL. THEREFORE...THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND WILL BE UPDATED
ONCE THE LOWEST PRESSURE IS FINALLY OBSERVED.

THE LOW WAS AT ABOUT 983 MB ONLY 24 HOURS AGO OVER CENTRAL SOUTH
DAKOTA. THAT IS A PRESSURE DROP OF ABOUT 21 MILLIBARS IN 24 HOURS.

[Heywood J]

54. It's already windy and raining here.

Ten minutes after that picture was taken, the sky is now black.

[Odin2005]

59. Down to a pressure of 954 milibars in Northern Minnesota, where the center is now, WOW

[lovuian]

61. We are going to see wind speeds increase and increase

up north