Great Lakes Storm of 1913 Fitzgerald" sank suddenly with all hands, without a distress signal. The storm was first noticed on Thursday, November 6, on the western side of Lake Superior, moving rapidly toward northern Lake Michigan. The weather forecast in "The Detroit News" called for "moderate to brisk" winds for the Great Lakes, with occasional rains Thursday night or Friday for the upper lakes (except on southern Lake Huron), and fair to unsettled conditions for the lower lakes. Around midnight, the steamer "Cornell", while 50 miles (80 km) west of Whitefish Point in Lake Superior, ran into a sudden northerly gale and was badly
Great Lakes pass the locks on the Saint Lawrence Seaway because the ships are too wide. Only four bridges are on the Great Lakes other than Lake Ontario because of the cost of building structures high enough for ships to pass under. The Blue Water Bridge is, for example, more than 150 feet high and more than a mile long. The Great Lakes are used to supply drinking water to tens of millions of people in bordering areas. This valuable resource is collectively administered by the state and provincial governments adjacent to the lakes, who have agreed to the Great Lakes Compact