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2:45 p.m. storm update: Tide starting rise to along barrier islands
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Storm report from Harvey Cedars, Ocean County
For up-to-the-minute weather map with wind speeds, click here
For live web cams showing the surf on area beaches, click here
Latest NOAA weather observations
Forecasters say strong winds, pounding waves and rain today and Friday could cause the worst flooding along the New Jersey shore in years.
In addition, a coastal flood warning and high surf advisory are in effect from Sandy Hook to Cape May until 11 p.m. Friday.
The region's next flooding threat will come at high tide this afternoon. High tide is expected off of Atlantic City at 3:26 p.m., Wildwood Beach at 3:29 p.m., and Barnegat Inlet at 3:42 p.m.
CAPE MAY COUNTY
It may be a northeaster, but people have to eat. And that's why the Deauville Inn here in the Strathmere section of Upper Township remained open, even as the waters from Corson's Inlet could be seen rushing into the back bays in advance of the afternoon's high tide.
Sherry and Mike Wegelin were among the sparse lunch crowd here. The Ocean View couple knew about the storm, but decided to keep their lunch plans anyway.
"It's a good soup day," said Sherry as she had a bowl of French Onion soup.
Hardy as they felt, the couple was still watching the waters flow into the back bays at a fast pace. They weren't worried so much about the battering waves as they were the afternoon tides flooding the roads before they could get back to Dennis Township.
They were also surprised at the strength of the storm, which has already deposted mounds of sand along the main road here, Commonwealth Drive.
The township's posted orange cones warning of the debris, but so far, the roads are still open.
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Driving rains were keeping most people off the streets here at about 12:30 p.m., but Lori Erdman doesn't have that luxury-she's got a dog to walk.
Erdman, 45, was braving the weather to walk her dog Jack. Jack's a mix of four breeds, Chesapeake Bay retriever, Rottweiller, Labrador, and shepherd.
All of the breeds, apparently, love the water and walking.
Erdman says she has to do six miles a day with her dog, rain or shine.
"With this dog, it doesn't matter how cold the water is," Erdman said.
Elsewhere, the storm had driven most others inside.
In the Wildwoods, people were scarce, as were signs of problems. One exception was a fallen sign from the Crab Island, a local business.
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Emergency management officials here will hold a press conference this afternoon to discuss the impact of the northeast storm that has brought high winds and rain to the county.
County Communications Director Lenora Boninfante said the county anticipates the county could experience 9 foot tides, with the worst of the storm hitting Friday.
In Wildwood, Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. said the high winds are holding the tides in, making the back bay waters abnormally high even during low tide.
"It's not going to be pleasant for the next two days.
"Even though it's low tide now, it's half a low tide," West Wildwood Mayor Herbert Frederick said speaking from his borough home as he assessed the conditions around the island.
The borough made use of its reverse 911 system Wednesday night to warn residents to secure their property and move their vehicles to higher ground.
Meanwhile, Boninfante said the Townsends Inlet Bridge linking Avalon and Sea Isle City will be closed indefinitely. A barge being used to repair the bridge was stuck underneath the bridge Wednesday night after it broke lose from its moorings.
ATLANTIC COUNTY
At 2:50 p.m., police scanners indicated that officers were beginning to block some lanes of eastbound traffic on the Black Horse Pike heading into Atlantic City.
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At 2:05 p.m., an hour and a half before high tide, the waves were already crashing up onto the already-damaged dunes at Newport Avenue in Ventnor.
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By 1:30 p.m., a little more than two hours before high tide, flooding had started on the back streets in Longport -- even 4x4s seemed to be crawling through several inches of water on Winchester Avenue. But the main throughfares of Ventnor and Atlantic avenues were still clear.
At 1:30 p.m., in the Absecon Island towns of Ventnor, Margate and Longport, there's still no substantial flooding of any street.
But that's not the case at Longport Borough Hall -- where five trash and recycling buckets are strategically placed to catch water leaking through the ceiling. One has about two inches of water already accumulated.
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At 12:35 p.m., three hours before high tide, waves were crashing on the rocks at the point in Longport and onto the street. The surf also sprayed the decks of the multi-million-dollar homes on Great Egg Harbor Inlet.
A steady stream of onlookers came to check out the storm.
Loren Rondeau of Millville, who does a lot of home repair business in the Downbeach area of Absecon Island, comes here during storms to see how bad they are.
"It looks pretty nasty out here, but I've seen it worse," Rondeau said.
Frank Moles of Margate said, "I was here for the '62 storm. That was a full moon, and it kept backing up on us. We couldn't go into Atlantic City for three days."
His wife, Cathy, was out shooting photographs, something she does in "any kind of weather ... beautiful weather, bad weather, we love it."
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By 11:30 a.m., almost four hours before high tide, rain water was pooling in the streets of Ventnor and Margate, particularly near storm drains. The National Weather Service reported that just about a third of an inch of rain had fallen on the Egg Harbor Township mainland as of midnight, but steady rain kept up for most of the morning.
On the beach, the tide had almost reached Ventnor's already damaged dunes around Newport Avenue and toward the Margate line. A north-northeast wind of more than 30 miles per hour was blowing the tops off waves as they roared toward the shore.
Power was out briefly but restored quickly in parts of Ventnor.
The wind speed readings at Gardner's Basin in Atlantic City on Thursday before noon showed a maximum gust of 51 mph and sustained winds of about 35 mph. The ocean temperature at Steel Pier in Atlantic City is 53 degrees, and the air temperature 49 degrees.
Winds at the top of the Dolores Cooper Bridge on the Longport causeway early this morning were strong enough to buffet at cars -- it was a two-hands-on-steering-wheel affair.
At low tide around 9:30 a.m. in Longport, the ocean was churned up pretty good but didn't appear to be too far above the normal low-tide line. The beach block of 11th Street was open -- police sometimes close it when the waves are breaking on the jetty at the point there. At that time, there was no threat to the upscale homes at the point.
The crazy conditions kept surfers landlocked. None was spotted in a quick tour of beaches from North Street in Ocean City to Knight Street in Margate. Surf shops are calling for more of the same stormy seas -- "Victory at Sea," they call it -- through Friday with the best chance of cleaner conditions on Saturday morning.
OCEAN COUNTY
The wind was throwing waves over the cement walkway near the Barnegat Lighthouse at 2:15 p.m. Thursday and sending the rain down at about a 45-degree angle. A lone fisherman sat near the jetty, and Donald, Terry and Irma Jones braved a walk through the storm.
"He's never seen it before," said Terry Jones, of Little Egg Harbor, referring to his brother Donald and the lighthouse.
They said the wind, which almost blew Donald over, could not deter them.
"It's the best time to come out here," Donald said.
"Because there's nobody else out here," Irma explained.
"And the waves are beautiful," Donald added.
There were hardly any other people venturing whether walking or driving. There were more trash cans skidding across the roadway than vehicles, and swings at the local playgrounds floated almost parallel to the ground, absent people using them.
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As Harvey Cedars prepares for the start of a beach replenishment project next week, the borough's severely eroded beaches are being pummeled by strong winds and rain today.
Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers brought the dredge to the borough that will pump sand onto its beaches, but sent it back to Sandy Hook Wednesday in preparation for the storm.
Borough Clerk Daina Dale said the storm is taking its time and holding over the beach. Beach conditions are not that bad right now despite windy conditions, she said, but could be by Saturday.
Borough officials are also concerned about what the bay will bring during high tide tonight, she added.
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CUMBERLAND COUNTY
Downe Township Fire and Rescue Chief Cliff Higbee said there is some minor flooding on some of the roads in the area, though he said it was not serious enough to elicit any concern currently.
Higbee said the county’s Office of Emergency Management was keeping an eye on weather radars in case conditions got more serious.
“It look like if (weather) stays the same things could get worse over the next couple of days,” he said. “But it’s nothing out of the ordinary for this type of weather.”
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Lee Robertson, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service's Mount Holly office, said a 40-45 mile per hour northeast wind is causing a lot of the region's beach erosion problems -- and disallowing water to drain from back bays.
The wind is pushing more water to shore and creating rip currents, increasing wave height to six and seven feet.
Forecasters say tidal flooding into Friday may be the worst since April 2007 in Monmouth County, March 1996 in Ocean and Atlantic counties and March 1994 in Cumberland and Cape May counties.
Posted in BREAKING | TOP THREE on Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:00 am Updated: 9:39 am.
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