Anchored in the exact same spot (the big arc is the previous swing), knowing some big weather was on the way. We came from Killarney this morning, sailed and motored, then anchored at about 13:30.
Just as we were approaching James Bay the air temperature dropped rapidly. There were no other signs of sudden weather change, so we checked water temperature, then noticed the developing mist. We were used to low twenties, but the water we were in was showing 16.8C. We grabbed warmer clothes and watched as the water temperatures dropped and dropped. The lowest readings we saw on the way in were 11.7C right in the bay (see the pic above). We have never seen anything like it and were watching for icebergs or the Kraken through the mist. Some kind of upwelling? Need to learn more. The air temperature was much warmer in the bay, coming off Manitoulin Island, for a while…
There was a squall watch this morning, eventually upgraded to a warning, and we could see the line over Mac Island at noon before we got out of cell range. It looked likely to reach us in some form at about 15:00.
There was a cacophony of alarms by radio and cell starting around 14:30. Apparently they can push out an alarm saying “TORNADO in this mobile coverage area” even when your phone shows no service, and the wording seemed to suggest that there already was an actual tornado. We got eight different cellular tornado warnings between 14:44 and 15:37. I hope nobody got hurt!
At 14:42 the rain hit and the wind rose rapidly. We already had the engine on and were dressed for action. We could monitor conditions and follow GPS position on the instruments at the nav station below. We could see from inside when the BBQ lid blew open and when the flag tried to fly away. (Pulled apart a split ring. ) The drag alarm went off and we watched on the plotter as the boat worked its way 200 ft towards the open lake before stopping again. The max wind speed recorded was 53.9 knots which felt quite exciting. There were extended periods around 40. The stormy part was about 15 minutes. The adrenaline reaction is still ebbing after an hour.
After the storm the water temp was 10.8 for several hours, but was back up to 19.2 by morning.
Quite the storm! I don’t know if any tornadoes were confirmed - but there was damage from London to Ottawa. Glad you two rode it out! Quick search suggests that storms can move enough water to break down the thermocline in localized areas - that would likely be your water temp drop. skd
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