Spent almost my entire life within a mile of two of Lake Ontario. Currently live a few hundred yards from the shoreline. Although in 1975 when that storm hit I was down in the Finger lakes, having just returned from California. Lots of wind but no major damage and I heard about the Fitz next day. The lakes can indeed be fickle and change rapidly. Been several miles out on a 35' Trojan charter fishing and if it wasn't for modern communications, radar, and enhanced weather forecasts aided by satellite we could have been caught in some nasty stuff. It can come out of nowhere. The size and power of the big lakes is something most Americans have no concept of. Years ago I walked the dog down to the lake and struck up a conversation with some folks standing on shore. They were from the midwest, Kansas IIRC, and they couldn't believe that they couldn't see the other side of the lake, even with binoculars.. I told them if you go out 15-20 miles you won't see either side. They began to realize the scale of it all right about then.