Saginaw Bay legend revives: Ice crashes ashore

on March 19, 2009 at 8:51 AM, updated March 19, 2009 at 8:59 AM

You've heard it often enough when disaster strikes elsewhere: "At least we don't have hurricanes or earthquakes or tsunamis in Michigan."

But we do have legendarily weird weather.

Wind, waves and a sudden thaw sent Saginaw Bay ice crashing ashore late the night of March 8-9 along Linwood Beach in Bay County.

In places, the ice piled as high as shoreline homes. It broke windows and cascaded like giant diamonds into living rooms.

When morning came, neighbors who dashed from their homes in the night returned to assess the damage. The localized destruction of the ice can't compare to the devastation of a tornado or hurricane.

But still.

If there isn't some kind of public assistance for such a mini-disaster, some help should be extended to the homeowners who need it.

The event was strange enough to draw the interest of not only local news reporters, but also national cable TV news and weather channels.

Saginaw Bay ice is the stuff of local lore. It only rarely pushes onto shore in dramatic, 25-foot piles to threaten houses. By our count, it has occurred in 1946, 1948, 1952, 1968, 1970 and 1984.

When it happens, it's awesome.

It's a legend that, every now and then, comes true.