Coastal storm this week

There is a large coastal storm headed towards the northeast.  We are mostly going to see rain from this storm, but we saw a little snow not long ago move through the area.  Not a big deal as far as accumulation, but that is a four letter word many do not like.   This storm is going to run into a cold front from the north and create some nasty weather for the New England States.  (That is a real basic description of the process)  We will  see rain for the most part, but we could see a little snow inland.  The main concern for the coastal are will be flooding.  Hatteras was hit with a storm surge and has some flooding to deal with in their streets.  We should expect to see the same here in Delaware.  The water at high tide this morning was already to the dune line.  The south road at Indian River Inlet is flooded before the marina as I type this report.  The winds are pushing water into the inland bays so each high tide could be worse than the one before.   We had a much higher than normal tide this morning, and water was washing back towards the jetty cap at the Indian River Inlet north side.  Be prepared for parks to close access to drive on beaches, you don’t want to be out there when a wave decides to wash out the entire beach where you parked and strand your vehicle.  The parks only close the beaches when necessary and will evaluate each beach when the time comes.   If you feel the need to fish this storm walk on and save yourself the aggravation.  Expect seriously high winds and a lot of blowing sand.

The boats did well this weekend fishing, I don’t think anyone will be headed out until Friday.  The striped bass love these conditions for chasing food, so if you want to brave the elements you could see some fish.  Whether the storm will push fish into the shoreline remains to be seen. Just be safe and smart if you do decide to venture out into this storm.  We filmed George Markopoulos of Delmarva Board Sports yesterday windsurfing the south side.  He and a friend of his were getting some air but the current was not helping.   He said it was fun but not ideal conditions.  Corby fished Henlopen beach yesterday and managed to land a couple of dogfish.  The sea was rough and will continue to be this way until Friday.  Jeff Weaver caught a tagged striper over the weekend and we will find out the information on that soon and let you know the history on that fish.   Suzanne Martin of Delaware Fisherwoman landed her first keeper striped bass on the Lil Angler II, she is still excited. Below is the storm data predicted by the national buoy center.

COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE MAY NJ TO CAPE HENLOPEN DE OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE HENLOPEN TO FENWICK ISLAND DE OUT 20 NM-
953 AM EST MON DEC 8 2014

 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT ...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING... REST OF TODAY NE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 KT. SEAS 8 TO 13 FT...SUBSIDING TO 8 TO 11 FT THIS AFTERNOON. MAINLY IN E SWELL WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 12 SECONDS. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS LATE THIS MORNING, THEN PATCHY DRIZZLE. TONIGHT NE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 KT... INCREASING TO 25 TO 30 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 KT LATE. SEAS 9 TO 12 FT...BUILDING TO 9 TO 14 FT LATE. MAINLY IN E SWELL WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 12 SECONDS. SHOWERS. TUE N WINDS 30 TO 35 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 KT... BECOMING NW 25 TO 30 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. SEAS 10 TO 15 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 12 SECONDS... SUBSIDING TO 9 TO 12 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 12 SECONDS LATE. RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN RAIN LIKELY EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON. A CHANCE OF RAIN LATE. VSBY 1 NM OR LESS...INCREASING TO 1 TO 3 NM LATE. TUE NIGHT NW WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 KT. SEAS 8 TO 11 FT...SUBSIDING TO 6 TO 9 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT. MAINLY IN E SWELL WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 12 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN. VSBY 1 TO 3 NM. WED W WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 KT. SEAS 5 TO 8 FT. A CHANCE OF RAIN. VSBY 1 TO 3 NM. WED NIGHT W WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 KT. SEAS 4 TO 7 FT. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. VSBY 1 TO 3 NM. THU W WINDS 20 TO 25 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS THROUGH THE DAY. VSBY 1 TO 3 NM. FRI NW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT.

Again just be careful if you decide to venture to the beach and keep an eye on the usual flood areas for the back bays.  We will keep you updated as the storm progresses.

Fish On!!

Rich King