Weather at the time
The Black Cat Island weather for October 28, 2006 was dominated by heavy rain but the overcast gave way to breaks during the evening. Fog and thunder were both recorded during the day.
There was 1.78 inches of rain that day, which tapered off during the evening.
The day's high was 53 and the low was 38.
Winds were from the east all day and evening, and averaged 30 mph with a gust to 45 mph. The weather system passed after midnight and winds shifted to west, gusting to 50 mph the next day, which brought snow showers.
The ship had successfully navigated worse, only a week earlier.
On the 20th, 1.82 inches of rain fell with fog, thunder, and winds averaging 30 mph from the southeast during the early evening. The winds shifted to northwest (while maintaining their speed) and increased, gusting to 50 mph. This speed-maintained rapid wind shift resulted in lots of tree damage around the area and a very churned-up lake. Temperatures dropped rapidly from the 50s down to 35 and the rain ended as snow (the season's first.) The ship went by shortly after power went out, just as the snow was beginning. All around the lake I could see green-blue flashes in the night sky from power transformers blowing up.
Northwest and Southeast are the two biggest wave-producing wind directions on the lake because of the lake's NW-SE geographic alignment. Northwest winds produce the biggest waves in The Broads, because that direction provides the greatest unobstructed run prior to reaching The Broads. Therefore I think the 20th was much worse, and so did the power lines. On the 28th the lights stayed on.
On Oct. 28, 2006, winds were straight E-W, although any of us boaters know that local wind & wave effects are possible and they aren't usually predictable. In that regard the state's biggest lake is similar to its biggest mountain.
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