WHITE HURRICANE November storms are a curse on the Great Lakes. In 1835, a storm was said to have "blown the sails off the lakes". Lake Erie was hit by 60 mph winds on November 22 and 23, 1874. On November 25, 1905, a November storm sank or ran aground more than 16 ships. On November 11, 1940 (Armistice Day Storm) a storm wrecked 12 ships. The giant bulk carrier Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a November storm in 1975. The Great Lakes have nearly 5,000 recorded shipwrecks, starting with Le Griffin in 1679 on Lake Michigan. In November it is a common occurrence for two storms to converge on the Great Lakes. When this happens, a storm travels southeast from Alberta; the other brings weather from the Rocky Mountains. This convergence is commonly referred to as the "November Storm." One hundred years ago, in November 1913, a blizzard with hurricane-force winds hit the Great Lakes. The storm produced wind gusts of 90 miles per hour, 35-foot waves and flurries of white snow. It was the deadliest and most destructive natural disaster to ever hit the area. The freighters disappeared without a trace. A deceptive lull in the storm and the slow pace of weather forecasts contributed to the storm's effect. The financial loss in the ships alone was nearly $5 million, or about $100 million in today's value. The lost cargo amounted to approximately 68,300 tons, including coal, iron ore and grain, steel rails, lumber and grain. At least 255 sailors died, 44 on Lake Superior, 7 on Lake Michigan, 6 on Lake Erie and 178 on Lake Huron. Two ships were lost on Lake Superior, 1 on Lake Michigan, 8 on Lake Huron (3 of them were Canadian ships), and 1 on Lake Erie. ...... half the paper ...... in Toronto, where he read of his "death". Thinking it would be a really good prank, he said nothing to his family and friends and showed up at his funeral. The unidentified sailor was buried with four other unknown souls. Shipping companies and shipbuilders worked with insurers and mariners to design safer ships with greater stability and greater longitudinal strength. The storm demonstrated that the Great Lake's straight bridges were underdesigned. Many complaints were made to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Weather Bureau. This resulted in a greater effort to obtain more accurate weather forecasts and faster communication of storm warnings. End of article, bio follows ROGER MEYER is a Michigan-based writer who specializes in writing articles about the outdoors and World War II. His 200 published journal articles have appeared in over 80 publications