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Overnight storm update
'We are getting beat up;' rain, tides, wind flood roads, erode dunes, cut power
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Friday morning's high tide brought more of the same to southern New Jersey.
More rain. More wind. More beach erosion.
Now, the question becomes: how much more can this region take?
High tide, occuring of Atlantic City at 4:07 a.m., Barnegat Light at 4:23 and Wildwood at 4:10, stole more sand from area beaches and flooded roadways.
In Atlantic County, flooding at high tide closed parts of the Black Horse and White Horse pikes - which should tie up commuter traffic on the Atlantic City Expressway. The same sections of roads were closed Thursday as well.
If that wasn't bad enough, fire officials in Ventnor had to trudge through the wet stuff to fight a fire at 101 N. Oxford Ave.
Atlantic and Pacific Avenues in Atlantic City were clear of flooding, along with most beach-side streets on Absecon Island. But drive through back bay streets in Margate and Longport, and you're liable to see your car stall in the standing water.
The second day of a coastal storm whipped through southern New Jersey on Thursday, making major roads impassable, leaving thousands of people without electricity, downing trees and wires, eroding beaches and prompting one county to declare a state of emergency.
In Cape May County, officials declared a state of emergency, and thousands lost electricity Thursday in both Cape May and Atlantic counties.
The storm also eroded beaches in Ocean County's Long Beach Island so severely that one municipality's mayor declared: "We're getting beat up."
Only Cumberland County was relatively unscathed.
Cape May County Freeholder Vice Director Ralph E. Sheets Jr. and Emergency Management Director Frank McCall signed the emergency proclamation at 6 p.m., and asked for state assistance in controlling traffic. The county also asked for 10 high-wheel four-wheel-drive vehicles to respond to medical emergencies and for resources to help Atlantic City Electric cope with power outages.
McCall said Thursday afternoon that this storm probably would rank among the top five to ever hit the county, and may end up being the costliest in terms of damage to property. Damage assessment will be done Sunday and Monday, with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency called to the county Monday.
While there were no mandatory evacuations, McCall said residents of the bay sides of all the county's barrier islands were advised to leave their homes for higher ground.
This morning's high tide, scheduled for about 4:21 a.m., was expected to be even worse - up to 9.4 feet above the mean height at high tide, McCall said.
"At these tide heights, we're going to have water on the west side of every barrier island," McCall said. "The storm water will pour into the inlets."
Meanwhile, a work barge bobbing unanchored in Townsends Inlet will pose a serious threat to ramming the Townsends Inlet toll bridge when the tide changes this morning, a county bridge official said Thursday night.
"It could be very dangerous for the bridge. It raises (the risk) of potential significant damage to the bridge," said Stephen O'Connor, executive director of the Cape May County Bridge Commission.
Work crews likely will have a four-hour window early this morning at low tide, when the waves are not as rough, to secure the barge before the ocean can send it back into the Townsends Inlet Bridge, O'Connor said.
The Route 52 causeway between Somers Point and Ocean City closed at about 2:30 p.m. but has since reopened heading west. It was unknown when the bridge would reopen completely, Ocean City police said. The 34th Street Bridge from Upper Township also closed for about two hours, leaving only one route in or out of town.
In Atlantic County, flooding at high tide Thursday afternoon closed Route 30 from Shore Road in Absecon toward Atlantic City and the Black Horse Pike from Franklin Avenue in Pleasantville into Atlantic City. The White Horse Pike reopened completely by about 8:45 p.m., and the Black Horse Pike reopened but likely would close again when the high tide returns, Egg Harbor Township police said.
With two major routes closed, traffic bound to and from Atlantic City jammed up on to the Atlantic City Expressway. Westbound traffic on the expressway was backed up Thursday night from the Pleasantville toll booths into the city due to volume and a couple of minor accidents, said State Police, Expressway Station.
Several thousand people in Cape May and Atlantic counties lost electrical power in the storm, according to Atlantic City Electric's Web site. By 9 p.m., most had been restored.
Eroding beaches
Waves splashed over what was left of Harvey Cedars' dune network at 4:30 p.m. but stopped just short of the foundation of a home near Mercer Avenue in the Long Beach Island borough, and threatened the foundations of several beachfront homes on Cape May Avenue.
Water came to within 6 feet of several beachfront homes in the borough, which is anxiously awaiting a beach-replenishment project.
"We're getting beat up," said Mayor Jonathan Oldham, who said this is the worst storm he has seen since 1992.
At 12:35 p.m., about 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 multimillion-dollar homes on Great Egg Harbor Inlet.
By 1:30 p.m., flooding had started on the back streets in Longport - even 4-by-4s seemed to be crawling through several inches of water on Winchester Avenue. But the main thoroughfares of Ventnor and Atlantic avenues were still clear.
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.
The harsh conditions kept even the surfers indoors. None were 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 good surfing conditions on Saturday morning.
Only Cumberland County was relatively unscathed by the storm.
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.
"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."
Watching nature's fury
It may be a coastal storm, but people have to eat. And that's why the Deauville Inn in the Strathmere section of Upper Township remained open, even as the waters from Corsons 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.
A little before high tide, Rick Burnside, 47, of Ventnor, appeared to be the only person out walking on his hometown's Boardwalk.
"Maybe you like it on a nice summer day," Burnside said, "but I like a stormy fall day."
"I don't think this is anything new," Burnside said. "I've seen a lot worse"
The wind was throwing waves over the cement walkway near the Barnegat Lighthouse, 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.
Staff writers Edward Van Embden, Lee Procida, Donna Weaver, Trudi Gilfillian, Brian Ianieri and Martin DeAngelis all contributed to this report.
Contact Elaine Rose:
609-272-7215
Storm facts
Strongest wind gust: 59 mph at 2:59 p.m.
Highest sustained winds: 31 mph at 3 p.m.
High temperature: 49 at 3:59 p.m.
Low temperature: 48 at 6:58 a.m.
Rain, midnight to 9 p.m.: 1.25 inches
Source: National Weather Service. Information from Atlantic City International Airport and Farley State Marina
Posted in BREAKING | TOP THREE on Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:50 pm Updated: 9:39 am.
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