The end of September brings the sun setting almost an hour earlier than the beginning of the month and the sunset will continue getting earlier for several more months. The waters of Lake Superior will get colder and the sun may glow off of ice instead of water.
Superior September Sunset
While only the third largest freshwater lake by volume, Lake Superior is the largest by surface area. The volume of water is impressive though at roughly three quadrillion gallons (which is enough water to cover both North and South America in one foot of water).
Lots of Water
I have been along parts of Lake Superior shoreline but have not traveled all its 1,826 miles. The surface area is about the size of the state of Maine as it is 350 miles long and has a breadth of 160 miles so there is a lot to explore.
Lake Superior Shoreline
It seemed like every time I went outside today, it started to rain. It even rained on me when I was at this beach last week and the tepee like structure didn’t provide a lot of cover from the raindrops.
Wet Evening at the Beach
Thunderstorms have been rolling through the state last night and this evening too. And some have rotational spins prompting tornado warnings. This storm had a cloud drop down with a slight spin so I was glad it was far enough away from me.
Thunderstorm Over Superior Waters
This goose looks a bit taken back at the sign about swimming at own risk. The goose had just brought his whole family (plus some relatives and friends too) out of the water. But apparently they accepted the risk as it wasn’t long before they were back out on the waters of Lake Superior.
Goose at Risk
On another hot summer day, a dip in a lake may help to cool down, especially in Lake Superior where the water temperature is 62 degrees, which is warmer than the thirties this spring.
Lake Superior Swim
After 240 days, the temperature finally reached eighty degrees again and you might think it would be a great day to go swimming in the lake without waves. But it would be a chilly dip in Lake Superior as the water temperature near this beach is only 37 degrees.
Chilly Dip on a Hot Day
It would be nice if my driveway was showing more rock and sand instead of ice but the sunshine today wasn’t enough to do any melting with the temperature below freezing. It would be nice to take a walk on a beach in the sunshine and only have to worry about getting shoes wet from a mini rogue wave instead worrying about slipping and falling on ice.
Beach at Herbster
Numerous waves of storm rolled through today, some bringing strong winds or heavy rains. Weather like that can churn the water up on even big lakes like Lake Superior, like on this beach where the beach has disappeared under the rolling sandy waves and won’t be a day to try swimming there either.
No Swimming
