The month of November is the stormiest on the Great Lakes. The Witch of November is the name given to the strong winds that blow across the vast waters in Autumn. It came yesterday night for Halloween and it howled across the Grimsby landscape. The winds across the lakes can reach hurricane levels. This accounts for ships sinking in Lake Ontario in November. Waves of up to 30 feet have swamped and overturned ships in the biggest storms.
On the west coast the winds are known as Big Blows. They form as cyclonic windstorms. Cyclonic sounds ominous, doesn't it? These storms have caused bridges to fail as well as ships to sink. So many that it is named the graveyard of the Pacific. More than 2,000 vessels have sunk since 1800.
What made me think of this? Port Dover on Lake Erie is flooded at record levels. There's video of a truck driving through water that covers the normally long stretch of sandy beach. I don't think anyone is going to use the telephone booth stranded out there. You can see the video HERE. Something I notice is that it is typically a truck driving through the flood waters with its engine just above the water level.
It is normal for water levels oscillate back and forth in the lake - and one and a half feet is a typical level. But there this is something called isostatic rebound. What is this? Here's the answer from the International's Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board:
Overall, isostatic rebound, which is the process whereby the earth’s crust is slowly adjusting to the lack of the weight of the glaciers from the last ice age, affects the north shore as well as the south shore of Lake Ontario. In general, the west end of the lake is sinking relative to the outlet, the St Lawrence River. Isostatic rebound means slightly deeper water for the northwest shore (15 cm) and for the southeast shore (4 cm) for the same given water level compared to 100 years ago.
So on the water theme, here is the Folly Waterfalls at Villa Eyrie. I felt it was mismatched with the path in front and bistro table and chairs. However, the moody picture with just the building waterfall shows off its eccentric style which is most creative and interesting.
Yesterday's storm in Ontario caused flash flooding. Here are the pictures from CP24. I recognize many of the streets in the pictures - particularly the underpass on King Street in the Liberty Village section - full of water.
Etobicoke was hit and I looked to find out if our street Orchard Crescent was flooded. It backed onto Mimico Creek which was a source of flooding in Hurricane Hazel and then a serious one in 2013 - two years after we moved.
Specific questions like this seem hard to answer. News media cover what is most dramatic and show-worthy. Like the skyline above over Toronto, or the car in the flooded highway ramp close to our old neighbourhood in Toronto. There are pictures of GO Trains in water and flooded subway cars flooded with people sitting in their seats. There's dramatic coverage at the Toronto Star site. This was a couple trapped in an elevator with water rising.
This wasn't a major flood like Hurricane Hazel in which 81 people killed in that surprise flood and much work was done on storm water management afterwards, but it is hard to win with water. Anyone with a pond knows this story.
And our picture of the day is a Grimsby garden that is noteworthy. Is it the intense plantings of flowers and shrubs, filling every single space? No, it is the artificial turf. Once you look at it, you realize it is too perfect to be living grass. It looks like one of the premium brands - Namgrass Serenity Artificial Grass. I can't imagine there actually is serenity - you must sweep and vacuum it to keep it grass-like. That would likely have to happen every day.
