Sandy spins on; Winds push Great Lakes waves to near record levels

Alain Marginean of Chicago snaps photos of the massive waves that came ashore Tuesday morning on North Avenue Beach in Chicago. Waves as high as 20 feet pounded the city's lakefront today, an artifact of the superstorm that's devastated parts of the East Coast.

Source: Daily Herald

The Daily Herald in Chicago has a great summary and photos as waves pounded the Chicago Lakefront Tuesday.

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"Superstorm Sandy" Headlines:

21.7 foot waves at NOAA 43 mi ESE of Milwaukee, WI at 11:50am Tuesday

2nd highest wave height ever recorded on Lake Michigan at this site

68 mph gusts along Lake Michigan's South Shore at Michigan City, IN

15"+ water level rise on southern Lake Michigan Tuesday

Wind, rain and snow - "Superstorm Sandy" spins on over northeast USA

Massive circulation wind field still stretches from Canada to Florida & Wisconsin to the Atlantic Ocean

Cloud shield visible from Minnesota: Western edge of giant cloud shield visible from Duluth looking east over Lake Superior Tuesday.

The "Superstorm" storm that could:

"Superstorm Sandy" continues to astound.

The storm that defied climatology, history and coastal defenses continues to spin as we hit Halloween.

Among Sandy's biggest effects Tuesday & Halloween.

-Heavy snow continues in the Appalachian Mountains.

-Near record waves on Lake Michigan

Wave heights will gradually diminish over the next 24 to 48 hours on the big lakes.

While Lake Michigan rages, wave heights on Lake Superior will range from docile near Duluth, to as high as 15 feet near Marquette, MI.

From a meteorological standpoint, we'll be tallying up the records and studying this unique storm for years. From a human standpoint, millions of people are still in the grips of trying to just survive Sandy for the next few weeks.

There will be time to look back and talk about whether/if Sandy was enhanced by or a product of climate change. Not in this space for now.

Let's just keep our thoughts and efforts on hoping those in Sandy's path get what they need over the coming days.

PH