Gales of November: Giant waves on Lake Superior flood Grand Marais

Strong winds that accompanied Thursday's winter storm sent waves on Lake Superior crashing on the shoreline, leading to streets flooding in Grand Marais. 

A gale warning/small craft advisory was in effect Wednesday-Thursday for western Lake Superior, with the National Weather Service in Duluth warning 10- to 15-foot waves as wind gusts were as high as 45 mph. 

Here are videos of the massive waves beating against the shore in Grand Marais Thursday: 

The waves ended up flooding some streets and parking lots in downtown Grand Marais, according to social media posts. 

Here's what it looked like walking out of the Lake Coop on Thursday, according to Upstate MN, a shop in Grand Marais.

It's not uncommon for downtown Grand Marais to experience flooding, especially when there are strong northeast winds. There are several news stories over the past decade about flooding in the popular tourist town during heavy rains and snowstorms. 

Photographer Bryan Hansel, who tweeted video of the flooding on Thursday, said in reference to the flooding: "That's what happens when people build a parking lot in a lake."

Here's what it looked like in Grand Marais overnight: 

And you can watch Visit Cook County's Grand Marais harbor camera (and its other live web cams) here: 

Enormous waves hammered Minnesota's North Shore on Thursday, from Grand Portage to Duluth, where the city's newly constructed rock wall protecting the Lakewalk was put to the test. 

The National Weather Service says a mix of rain and snow is expected from the tip of Minnesota's Arrowhead southeast through the Twin Ports Thursday afternoon. 

The gale warning and small craft advisory are set to expire at 10 p.m. Thursday.