One Week Post Storm- Looking Ahead

I wasn't happy about losing my storm post, but I figure the best thing to do right now is to look ahead until the mess is over.  When everything settles back to normal, or when the realization comes that there is not really any such thing as normal, then it will be time to tell the tale of the most terrible storm to affect our coastline.  It's amazing how much the weather can impact, it is the ultimate common denominator between everyone.  There aren't many other things that have such a profound effect on a large scale.

Sometimes you don't appreciate what it's like to live with something until you live without it, and that is the way I feel right now about being away from the barrier island.  Though I am not there, what I gather is that the clean up and repair effort is aggressive.  Though I have heard of loss, I have also heard good news.  Though this may not be a great situation, there are probably many people who have been on Long Beach Island in the last few years who have never heard of the 1962 Great Atlantic Storm.  That's because the shore came back after 1962- so well that the storm was eventually nothing but memories and stories.


Great progress has been made at the new inlet in Mantoloking in the last week. From NJ.com 

Another inlet filled and a temporary road.  From NJ.com

But there is something nasty about this series of events.  The northeast winds may blow hard on Wednesday.  After being drastically in error about what the last storm would do, I don't want to predict anything for this one.  It's even more difficult because there are no dunes.  Other than a wider sandbar that will hopefully break the waves, there is nothing to stop the ocean from coming in at some areas.  When I left everything was so flat, so vulnerable, so we'll see.

The 24hr and 48hr forecast would be okay any other time, but not now.  This looks to be a tight and nasty little northeaster.

Bad timing for this one.  Fortunately the moon tide is less this week and the wind looks like it will go hard NW behind the storm.  Also the wind field will be a lot smaller.  The size of the wind field was what made the last storm so spectacular.

Fortunately the swell looks brief.

There was a nasty series of nasty northeasters from December 1913 to January 1914.  From what I read the second one gave Sea Bright back to the sea for a while.  It will be what it will be, I guess, in regards to the Wednesday blow.  The Jersey shore has been a target for stormier weather this fall, beginning with the strongest south wind in years during September.  When you get in a trend, you tend to stay in it, which I don't like when the trend is not cool.  Have to keep moving.