Into the Gale

Muskegon South Pier leaning into the gale by Jerry Herrendeen

This past Sunday (Dec 11, 2021) was a very dark day in American meteorological history as tornados ravaged the middle south, killing at least 80 in Kentucky and visiting devastation on Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee in what has become since 2020 a new seasonal threat.

While the Great Lakes State was spared the worst, mLive shares that Michigan was buffeted by winds topping 60 mph with gusts as high as 72 recorded at the Saugatuck Pier. While there’s no wind reading from the South Breakwater Light, the Muskegon North Breakwater Light clocked a reading of 68 MPH. Waveheads in the audience who want to know just how big the wave in this photo can do a little visual math with the knowledge that the North Breakwater Light is 52′ tall!

Jerry’s The Moods of Lake Michigan gallery makes it clear he has no problem getting out there to get the shot & has a couple more photos from Sunday including this shot of a wave nearly topping the 48′ south pier light. 

Frankfort Light Dream Shot

Frankfort Light Dream Shot by Noah Sorensen

My friend Noah lives in Frankfort & shares: 

I just actually hit one of my dream shots 30 minutes ago. I have been waiting years for this one. Felt so good to line it up, realize my timing, rise to the occasion, and just all smiles and tears. Completely made my day. Thankful for these moments and how happy photography can make me. #puremichigan #michigan

For reference, the top of the tower is 67 feet above Lake Michigan! Follow him on Facebook or Instagram and definitely follow your dreams!

A Wave from Lake Huron

Lake Huron by Kare Hav

Gorgeous shot from the other day on Michigan’s east coast. See more in Karen’s dynamite Pt. Lookout/Au Gres gallery on Flickr & have a wonderful weekend!

More from Lake Huron on Michigan in Pictures.

Gale Force Assemble: Wild Weather on the Way for Michigan

Wild Day on Lake Michigan by Bob Gudas

mLive reports that the storm systems that have been tearing across the country are coming to Michigan today, bringing high wind warnings to the state & dumping up to 2 feet of snow on the UP:

Lower Michigan should have peak wind gusts between 45 mph and 55 mph. There could be an isolated wind gust just over 55 mph. The strongest gusts would likely be right along the Lake Michigan shoreline due to the wind accelerating over the Great Lakes water and on the eastern fringe of the Lower Peninsula.

The northeast shoreline of Lower Michigan, from Tawas City to Alpena to Rogers City, will likely have the highest widespread wind gusts. There will also be a pick-up of winds right at the Lake Michigan shoreline.

The Upper Peninsula will stay on the cold side of the storm. Wind gusts will still be strong, up to 45 mph. Snow will be the main issue. Some parts of the U.P. will have very heavy snowfall.

A large part of the western two-thirds of the U.P. will have over one foot of snow. Some areas in the higher elevations along the Lake Superior shoreline near Marquette could have up to two feet of snow. The heavy snow combined with strong winds will likely cause power outages.

In Lower Michigan, there will be two snowfall patterns. Northwest Lower Michigan will have the changeover to snow just as the main precipitation area of the storm is winding down. Northwest Lower could have a couple of hours of meaningful snowfall. As a result, look for one to three inches of snow on the grass Monday night in northwest Lower. This would include Traverse City, Cadillac, Charlevoix, Petoskey, Gaylord and Mackinaw City.

Stay warm & stay safe everyone!

Bob took this shot of gale force winds hitting the pier at Grand Haven back in Ovtober of 2015. See it and more in his Explore album on Flickr.

More wind on Michigan in Pictures!

Frankfort Fire Department 🔥

Frankfort Fire Department 🔥 by Noah Sorenson Photo

Here’s a stunning shot of the Frankfort Light by my friend Noah. With news that Covid-19 is hitting police and other emergency services very hard in Michigan & around the nation, I hope that everyone will do EVERYTHING they can to minimize the strain on these hard-working women & men:

More than a fifth of Detroit’s police force is quarantined; two officers have died from coronavirus and at least 39 have tested positive, including the chief of police. For the 2,200-person department, that has meant officers working doubles and swapping between units to fill patrols. And everyone has their temperature checked before they start work.

An increasing number of police departments around the country are watching their ranks get sick as the number of coronavirus cases explodes across the U.S. The growing tally raises questions about how laws can and should be enforced during the pandemic, and about how departments will hold up as the virus spreads among those whose work puts them at increased risk of infection.

…officers are used to risk. It’s part of the job. But at a time when Americans are being advised to stay six feet from each other to combat an insidious virus that can live on surfaces for days, the perils and anxieties are new. This crisis is unlike any American police forces have dealt with before, said former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis.

“We’re in unprecedented territory here,” said Davis, who led the police department when the Boston Marathon bombing happened in 2013.

…While the pandemic has so far hit American cities hardest, rural law enforcement agencies with few staff are in some ways most vulnerable.

In the tiny West Texas community of Marfa, Police Chief Estevan Marquez instructed his four officers not to pull over cars for minor traffic infractions, especially if they’re passing through from areas already hit by the virus.

He can’t afford for anyone to get sick.

You can read the history of Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse by Terry Pepper on Michigan in Pictures & should definitely view Noah’s photo & many more on his Instagram!

Even Mr. Brightside has a dark side

Mr. Brightside, photo by Aaron Springer

The Frankfort North Pier Head Light marks the entrance to Betsie Lake. It’s a popular fishing spot, but on Friday afternoon as UpNorthLive reports, a fisherman learned to pay a little more attention to his surroundings:

The Coast Guard says the man was fishing when the weather picked up. He then became stuck on the pier due to crashing waves over the break wall. The Coast Guard was notified by the Benzie County Central Dispatch around 9:25 p.m.

Coast Guard Station Frankfort then launched a 25-foot response boat, a small crew and a Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City MH-60 jayhawk helicopter crew. The response boat arrived on scene first and confirmed the man was on the wall. The boat could not help with the rescue due to the shallow water.

The Coast Guard says the MH-60 helicopter crew hovered over the lighthouse on the pier and lowered a rescue swimmer who then basket-hoisted the man to safety with no injuries before flying to Frankfort Dow Memorial Airport where local EMS were standing by.

Click through for more including a video of the man and the pier taken from the Coast Guard helicopter.

View the photo bigger and see more in Aaron’s slideshow.

More from the Frankfort Light on Michigan in Pictures.

Breakwall Sunrise in Grand Marais

Break Wall Sunrise, photo by Gary McCormick

View Gary’s photo from February of 2012 background bigilicious, see more in his big old Grand Marais MI slideshow, and follow him for the latest at Footsore Photography on Facebook.

More from Grand Marais and more winter wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures!

Photo-op gone bad

Photo-op gone bad, photo by Paul Wojtkowski

Paul got caught by an unexpectedly large wave on Lake Superior – good thing he had already taken his selfie-stick shots!! :D

View his photo big as the biggest lake, see more including Manabezho Falls in his slideshow, and view and purchase photos on the-woj.com.

On a more serious note, as yesterday and today’s posts show, these big lakes have big and sometimes unexpected power, particularly as we head into fall and winter. Take a moment to see what’s going on, watch for a minute so you know what’s going on, be sure of your footing, and take a buddy or two if you can!

Pier Energy at Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse

Pier Energy, photo by Aaron Springer

The Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse entry at Terry Pepper’s excellent Seeing the Light says the tip of the light is 72 feet off the water, making that spray over 80′ tall!! Click above for a ton more, but here’s something about the light tower:

1912 saw significant a significant change in the lighting of the Frankfort harbor entrance. A new square steel pyramidal tower was erected on the North Pier. Fully sheathed in steel plates, the white painted structure stood 44 feet from its base to the top of the ventilator ball. Outfitted with a fixed red Fourth Order Fresnel lens, the tower’s location on the north pier provided the new light with a focal plane of 46 feet, and a visible range of 12 miles in clear weather. The air siren from the South Pierhead light was relocated into this new structure, and set up to emit a characteristic isophase characteristic of alternating periods of 3 second blasts and 3 seconds of silence. An elevated walkway, similar to that installed on the south Pier, was erected from the new light to the shore.

…By 1924, the total car ferry tonnage through Frankfort Harbor was twenty five times greater than that prior to the establishment of the ferries. To better serve this vital commerce, the Army Corps of Engineers began construction of a pair of reinforced concrete arrowhead-type breakwaters at the harbor entrance in order to create a large stilling basin to protect the opening into the harbor. With the completion of these breakwaters in the early 1930’s, the twin piers at the entry into Lake Betsie no longer served any purpose. With plans in place to shorten them into short stub piers, the North Pierhead Light was lifted from the pier onto the deck of a barge and carried out to the end of the North Breakwater. A square steel base 25 feet in height had been erected on the end of the breakwater to receive it, and the tower was lifted onto the new base. After being bolted into position, the new tower stood 67 feet in height from the upper level of the pier to the top of the lantern ventilator ball. By virtue of its location on the concrete pier, the light stood at a focal plane of 72 feet, and the 17,000 candlepower incandescent electric light within the Fourth Order Fresnel was visible for a distance of 16 miles in clear weather.

Read on for lots more about the lighthouse including some great old photos.

View Aaron’s photo bigger and see more in his slideshow,.

Tons more lighthouses on Michigan in Pictures.

Marquette’s Fresh Coast Film Festival – October 13-16, 2016

Kayaking Lake Superior, photo by Aaron Peterson

Travel Marquette shared Aaron’s photo as “A casual day of kayaking the great waters of Lake Superior.” While it’s not kayaking over the Tahquamenon Falls crazy, I confess that “casual” is not the first work that comes to mind!!

In one of the cool twists that I’ve come to expect from Michigan in Pictures, it turns out that Aaron is behind something that I’ve wanted to feature from Marquette, the upcoming Fresh Coast Film Festival (Oct 13-16, 2016)!

The Fresh Coast Film Festival is the first of its kind: a documentary film festival celebrating the outdoor lifestyle, water-rich environment and resilient spirit of the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest. The festival will gather the best in adventure cinema from around the world while creating a venue for, and building a culture of, Great Lakes storytelling.

Fresh Coast will be held annually in October during the height of fall color season in the Lake Superior harbor town of Marquette, Michigan.

…A key component of the Fresh Coast experience will be guided outdoor activities to introduce visitors to the outdoor playground of the Marquette area. Rock climbing, fly fishing, sea kayaking, waterfall hikes and mountain bike rides will all be offered as part of the Fresh Coast weekend.

Click for the full schedule!

View Aaron’s photo bigger, follow him on Facebook, and view & purchase his work at www.aaronpeterson.net.