Saturday, October 8, 2011

Incredible Storm Pictures of Lighthouses

Amazing what kind of weather lighthouses have to endure. 
Equally amazing are the lighthouse keepers that are brave enough to live there.

This actually was a very recent forwards that I decided to add right now.  
Check out the website where these pictures came from (there are also some other pics not included here).  The video of the storm beating against the lighthouse at the end is awesome . . . visit it just to see that.  Incredible.

Click Here to see orginal web site with more pics


Bajamar in the Canary Islands of Spain by Olga Diez

Big Sea by Tony (midlander1231)

Blizzard Rams New England. 1978 Pulitzer Prize, Feature Photography,
Staff Photographers of Boston Herald American.
The lighthouse is 114 feet high,
which means that foam is spraying 100 feet into the air,
propelled upward by a raging sea that sinks ships
and floods towns up and down the coast.
It is Feb. 8, 1978.
A blizzard has rammed New England, shutting down roads,
businesses and schools. Snow buries everything. Nothing moves.
 Kevin Cole, chief photographer at The Boston Herald American,
is stuck in Plymouth, Mass.
“The snow was over the house. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Determined to cover the storm, Cole heads for the Hyannis airport.
“I found this place called Discover Flying School. The wind was blowing.
The pilot said ‘You’re crazy, nobody’s going up.’”
Before long, they are airborne.

“It was this little, tiny plane. We took off.
The whole coastline was gone, houses in the water, houses floating,
waves crashing inside them. About two miles out, I saw Minot Light.”
In the raging wind, they circle the lighthouse. The pilot tells Cole,

“We can’t stay out here any longer.’ Just as he started to turn, I saw a huge wave.
That’s when I got that shot, and that’s the same time I threw up.”
Other Herald American photographers fan out around the region,

photographing the blizzard’s destruction:
Villages buried in freezing flood waters, commuters trapped in snow-covered cars.
The newspaper publishes a special section,
which chronicles the worst New England storm in 200 years—54 dead,
10,000 homeless and evacuated. 
By Staff Photographers of Boston Herald American via cliff1066™
http://www.hurricanes-blizzards-noreasters.com/78blizzard.html



Artic Blast - Ludington South Breakwater Lighthouse by James Marvin Phelps

Winds 30-40, gusts to 55, mid lake waves at 17-22 ft, very impressive storm. 
This was taken from the beach at Frankfort Michigan. 
The lighthouse in the photo is 76 ft tall. By Jim Sorbie


Giant Crashing Wave still can’t touch the lighthouse. By Borf The Dog


Grand Haven Lighthouse. The photographer described, 
“In this picture is the outer and inner light. 
The outer light is 36′ tall and the inner light is 51′ tall. 
I was able to venture out safely about 150′
without getting washed into the water. 
Twice I got a bath from the waist down.
As the remnants of the record low pressure moved on 
this past weekend the waves on Lake Michigan were pretty rough. 
When we got the beach in the early afternoon
winds were topping out at 50 mph making for some huge
waves breaking on the end of the pier by the outer light. 
Some of the breaks were reaching 40′ tall.” By © Luke Hertzfeld


Battered Grand Haven Pier Lighthouse By James Marvin Phelps


Liquid Thunder – Waves Crashing into Grand Marais Harbor Light.  
by James Marvin Phelps


Winter Rage Grand Haven Pier Light.  By James Marvin Phelps


Hide and Seek … Today’s puzzle – try to find the pier hidden in this picture. 
Hint: the glimpse of the lighthouse may be a clue.  By Mrs Logic

Winter Fury at Ludington North Breakwater Light. By James Marvin Phelps


Artic Blast – Ludington South Breakwater Light.  By James Marvin Phelps



Visit Michigan in the winter? Brrr!  Michigan Travel Bureau via EPA


Furious Lake Michigan Petoskey – waves and ice.  by Charles Dawley


THE POWER OF THE STORM! Mouro Lighthouse, Spain. 
The ferocious waves exceeded the height of 37.5 meters (123 feet)! 
The foam breaks down and is “floating” on the wind. 


Waves striking seawall give appearance of geysers erupting. 
New England coast – 1938. By NOAA / National Weather Service


Petoskey Winter Storm.  by Charles Dawley


Perfect Timing – Petoskey Breakwall. Photo taken during a windy cold day in October.
The waves were amazing!  by Charles Dawley


Porthcawl Harbor Storm.  by Nick Russill


Lunchtime at the Lighthouse Frankfort Michigan lighthouse. 
When there’s a strong wind out of the southwest, dramatic things happen!. 


The photographer described this awesome shot as, 
“Stormy weather and rough seas at Roker Lighthouse.”  by © Gail Johnson


Monster waves: Rough weather for lighthouse keepers.  
by Mariners Weather Log/NOAA


Rough weather by Pablo Lopez


Okay, not waves attacking in a power struggle against man-made lighthouses, 
but this shot was creepy cool. The photographer called it Sea Point Storm and wrote, 
“Pity that this came out blurred, but I was running at the time. 
Foam monster attacking the public.”  by mallix


Sheboygan Lighthouse (NOAA Station SGNW3).  by University of Wisconsin


Smell the salt? Fishing boat coming in during a storm, 
winds a 130 km/h (80 mph).  by Nico (maessive)


Gale force winds at South Haven, Michigan attract visitors to the lighthouse and pier, 
along with surfers and intrepid kayakers.  by Tom Gill


South Haven Pier. Gale force winds pound the South Haven, Michigan lighthouse 
and pier during a two day storm. Gusts of over 50 miles per hour 
created 16 to 20 foot waves in open water.  by Tom Gill


Gale force winds throughout the day churned up Lake Michigan 
and created high waves along the South Haven, Michigan shore. 
The lighthouse tower is 35 feet tall (from the pier) another six feet to the water – 
making that splash around 50 feet tall.  by Tom Gill


Gale force winds throughout the day churned up Lake Michigan 
and created high waves along the South Haven, Michigan shore. T
he lighthouse tower is 35 feet tall (from the pier) another six feet to the water – 
making that splash around 50 feet tall.  by Nwardez



Aftermath of the Winter Storm: The photographer described this photo as, “30 foot tall outer light of the St. Joseph, Michigan after a severe winter storm. Waves on Lake Michigan were said to be over 20 feet high, which pounded the lighthouse and covered it in ice feet thick in places. Workers were just finishing up a paint job when the storm hit. The scaffold was demolished and is also covered in a thick layer of ice.”





Ice Drapery: Ice formed on the St. Joseph, Michigan lighthouse 
and catwalk during a winter storm that churned up 
Lake Michigan and created 20 foot waves. 
The ice apparently broke the “hand rail” cables on the catwalk, 
and they are now drooping down with tons of ice.  by Tom Gill


The hard life of the lighthouse.  by Juan José Aza



Wind, waves and water. 
Beautiful but pounding at the coastline and the lighthouse. 


The Oswego Lighthouse is awash with waves 
during a November 2003 storm with 80 mph winds. 


Typhoon-generated waves striking a breakwater in Japan – 
Historic NWS Collection.   by NOAA / NWS / NASA


The photographer and friend were sprayed while capturing photos of waves.



Wollongong Lighthouse & Waves.  by Steven (The Waterboy)

“The walk to the lighthouse was treacherous- the pier is also covered in a layer of ice. Most of the way was slow going, but the walk next to the inner light was the most difficult. There is only a path about 20 inches wide with the lighthouse to your left, and the frigid lake to your right. I managed to carefully negotiate the path and make it out to the outer light. In hindsight, I’m lucky I didn’t go for an unexpected winter swim.” Photo #6 by Tom Gill


Video from original web site:



October 2011

No comments:

Post a Comment