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BOB KELLEHER: Snowfall in Duluth hasn't quite met weather service predictions. 5.5 inches had fallen by midday, with a couple more expected during the afternoon. But howling Northeast winds have created a spectacular sight along the city's Lake Superior waterfront. Foamy caps on huge root beer waves are smashing the city's waterfront beaches.

The rolling right over and under the city's popular wooden lakewalk. Duluth officials closed a portion of the walk after waves washed out the foundation for a 200-foot stretch near the historic Fitger's brewery. Despite the danger, it's drawing spectators to witness the power of wind and waves. It puts dick skog in mind of a storm a quarter of a century ago.

SPEAKER 1: As I look at this, I'm reminded of the Edmund Fitzgerald. These are the seas of November I'm sure they were talking about when it went down. The force is just hard to imagine. There are boulders the size of large beach balls that have been driven right across the lakewalk.

BOB KELLEHER: The waves have toppled a section of iron fencing inland from the walk, which is itself a good 10 feet above the lake's normal level. Much of the walk is littered with timber, sand, and rocks. Parts of the walk have buckled, and some parts appear to have been swept away. In the popular Canal Park District, 15-foot waves are rolling right over the sides of the concrete ship canal. The water nearly touches the bottom of Duluth's famous lift bridge. Police officer Gail Holton says, the water spilling into a nearby parking lot.

SPEAKER 2: There is a parking lot that has a manhole cover for drainage directly into the lake. We had to block that off because we think the manhole cover blew off. So it's just a hole in the somewhere under the water in that parking lot. So we've got that blocked off too. So we're trying to keep some people away from here actually.

BOB KELLEHER: But he's having limited success. Some, like Richard Thomas, walk the lake walk every day. On this day, he took a flying leap over an iron picket fence to avoid another several foot high surge of foamy brown water.

SPEAKER 3: In this case, really got drenched. I sort of had to do a little running there to get away from it when the big wave came in.

BOB KELLEHER: It the kind of sea that turns a practical person poetic.

SPEAKER 3: The power of God. The awesome force of nature. Also I guess winter had been not coming and not coming, but all nice and warm. And then all of a sudden, bam. It hits us with all this pent up force.

BOB KELLEHER: Weather forecasters downgraded the storm this afternoon, first dropping winter storm warnings for parts of the Iron Range and Lake Superior's North Shore. And while most of Duluth got less snow than expected, downwind from the lake in Duluth's Morgan Park neighborhood, it did pile up 13 inches while the snow depth reached 7 to 17 inches across Northern Wisconsin. Still, according to meteorologist, Carol Christenson, there's going to be a bit more.

CAROL CHRISTENSON: And in the forecast for the next few days, snow every day.

BOB KELLEHER: The storm will be downgraded to a winter advisory in Duluth tonight, but it will remain a storm warning in Wisconsin. In Duluth, I'm Bob Kelliher, Minnesota Public Radio.