Midwest Windy Season Known as the Witch of November

Late fall in the Midwest is known as the windy season. Residents in those states will experience gusts of wind sometimes comparable to those of a hurricane, according to Meemic Insurance Company.

The strong winds that blow across the Great Lakes in autumn are also known as the Witch of November. The “witches” are often caused by intense, low atmospheric pressure over the Great Lakes that pulls cold Canadian air from the north and warm Gulf air in from the south. When these extreme temperatures of hot and cold collide, they can result in hurricane force winds that stir up massive waves in the Lakes and send those gusts onto land, the insurer states. The warm water combined with blasts of winter-like cold are a recipe for intensifying storm systems.

Because each of the Great Lakes are so large, they may produce their own individual weather patterns, according to the Farmers Almanac.

The strong gale-force winds have been blamed for the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald on lake Superior forty years ago this month. On November 10, 1975, 29 crewmen died during an intense storm.

The sinking spawned a well-known song by Gordon Lightfoot, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

Meemic Insurance Company contributed to this article.