Differences from Nov 1940
The pressure with this system may end up being lower than Nov 1998 and Nov 1940, but the wind fields do not seem as impressive. This particular system seems very wide, and it is not hemmed in by high pressure on any side. By contrast, with the Armistice Day storm of Nov 11,1940 (if memory serves me correctly) there was very high pressure over Quebec of over 1030 mb, and very high pressure of almost 1040 mb over Alberta when the storm was at its deepest. The pressure gradient looked more extreme, and I would guess that if todays numerical guidance was available back then, the NAM would show an 850 mb prefrontal jet streak of 90-100 knots, and a large area of 80+ knot post frontal 850 mb winds. Probably, the GFS would show 80-90 knots with the prefrontal 850 mb jet, and a large area of 70+ Knot post frontal 850 mb winds.
Getting back to the NAM, the Armistice day storm would probably be progged to be almost encircled by 30+ Knot surface winds, with a large streak of 40+ Knots in some of the post frontal areas from South IL to North MI (over land). Over water, the 10 km grid would probably forecast some 50+ knot surface winds over Lake Michigan.
To sum up this is an impressive storm, especially considering it is only October, but the pressure gradient and wind fields seem weaker than would typically be the case for a 960 mb event in the upper Great Lakes. The forecast wind fields at 850 and at the surface seem much weaker then 1940, and somewhat weaker then 1998.
