Wind At Pictured Rocks Ask Dave a weather question

Dave Thurlow, Host

 
Hi, I'm Dave Thurlow from the Mount Washington Observatory and this is The Weather Notebook. The fury of the wind and waves on Lake Superior has been well documented in legend and song. But what happens when that wind smacks up against the high cliffs of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan's Upper Peninsula? Producer James Jones shares some stories about the effects of that dramatic interaction.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

JJ: When the driving force of the north wind smacks up against the shear, 200 foot cliffs at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, it turns straight up. Sometimes it carries water and sand a quarter mile back into the forest. Greg Bruff, who works and lives at the Lakeshore Park, says that often creates some interesting natural delights.

GB: "In the winter time because of the prevailing northerly and northwesterly winds it will erode that sand and toss it back up into the snow and then with periodic snowfall, and then winds, you get kind of a layering effects of the snow, and then a layer of sand, a layer of snow. And if you were to cut through it with a knife, it almost looks like vanilla ice cream with a tapioca pudding interspersed."

JJ: And even when it's not snowing, the severe winter weather here has an unusual temporary effect on the landscape.

GB:"When the waves are high, and wind is high it will sometimes pick up water from the waves and throw it up on top of the cliffs and when it's cold like in November or December it will form sheets of ice on some of the trees actually way up on top of the cliffs."

JJ: The north wind has left a more permanent mark in Northern Michigan. Over the eons, the wind and waves have carved beautiful castles and towers out of the sandstone cliffs -- giving birth to what we now call the Pictured Rocks."

James Jones is an independent producer from Washington, DC. The Weather Notebook is underwritten by Subaru with major support provided by the National Science Foundation.