Storm Toby And The Second Day Of Spring

 

Storm Toby, our spring nor’easter, so far is just pummeling us with winds and rain, which is much worse in my opinion than the impending snow we may or may not see today.  We are five hours away from high tide and the ocean is on top of the beach, almost to the dune line.  The inland bays are full of water at low tide.  typical nor’easter conditions.  At least the winds have calmed down a bit, but are still pushing water.

All night winds have pushed water into the inland bays.  Flooding today will be an issue, but how much remains to be seen.  So far it doesn’t seem like it will be too bad (normal).  Yesterday we saw water just hit the tops of bulkheads in some communities and cause minor flooding in the usual areas.  Today will be a little worse, but I don’t think it will be that bad. Fingers crossed on that one.

 

If Route 1 floods, it will flood along the bayside first (Southbound lanes), all of the ditches in the middle of coastal highway and the sides are full of rainwater..  The bay water is up and the ground is saturated, not easy for the rainfall to drain.  There isn’t anywhere for it to go, the same is true in the back bay areas.  Water has collected in all of the low spots and that is adding to the amount of water filling the inland bays.

Anyone remember a few years ago when it rained so hard and fast in the Oak Orchard area the entire neighborhood flooded due to runoff that collected too fast and couldn’t drain.  That was the day the old boat ramp was washed out and almost took a house with it.

 

The beaches have a long surf or wash area, due to the constant waves digging up sand and creating the inner tide pools.  The surf looks a lot like New Jersey now with that long wash before the waves crash.  The inner pools will remain for a while until filled in and then beaches will be fine.

The worry is storm surge that will push higher onto the beach and breach a dune.  Beach combing at low tide is going to be epic once this wind dies down.

So far we are all good, just some minor flooding and we will see how bad it is today at high tide at noon. The other issue is the seas will not calm down for a few days, but the winds will shift northwest this evening, which will help alleviate some of the inland bay tidal flooding.

Snow or no snow, that is the question.  The storm is swinging around and dropping flakes as it gets lower into Delaware.  You can watch Storm Toby live on Ventusky slowly move down the state.  The question is how much snow will we see, will it stick,and can I go car hooding later today.

Fish On!

Rich king

Tides Indian River Inlet  …

2018/03/21	Wed	05:38 AM	-0.09	L
2018/03/21	Wed	12:00 PM	2.56	H
2018/03/21	Wed	5:45 PM	-0.14	L
2018/03/22	Thu	12:27 AM	2.87	H
2018/03/22	Thu	06:31 AM	0.03	L
2018/03/22	Thu	12:49 PM	2.42	H
2018/03/22	Thu	6:34 PM	-0.08	L

 

Marine Forecast …

SYNOPSIS FOR THE COASTAL WATERS FROM SANDY HOOK NJ TO FENWICK
ISLAND DE AND FOR DELAWARE BAY…

A major Nor’easter just east of the Mid-Atlantic coast today will
track northeastward tonight, then will be located off the New
England coast Thursday morning. High pressure builds southward to
start the weekend, as low pressure slides to our south Saturday
night and Sunday. High pressure should then build back in for early
next week.

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-
609 AM EDT Wed Mar 21 2018

STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EDT THIS EVENING

TODAY
NE winds 25 to 30 kt with gusts up to 50 kt. Seas 11 to
16 ft, subsiding to 9 to 13 ft late. Swell mainly from the NE
with a dominant period of 9 seconds. Rain. A slight chance of
tstms this afternoon. Snow late. Vsby 1 to 3 NM late this
morning, decreasing to 1 NM or less.

TONIGHT
NW winds 20 to 25 kt with gusts up to 40 kt. Seas 9 to
12 ft, subsiding to 6 to 8 ft. Swell mainly from the E with a
dominant period of 10 seconds. Snow and rain in the evening,
then snow likely with a chance of rain after midnight. Vsby 1 NM
or less, increasing to 1 to 3 NM in the late evening and
overnight.

THU
NW winds 20 to 25 kt. Gusts up to 40 kt, decreasing to
30 kt in the late morning and afternoon. Seas 5 to 8 ft,
subsiding to 4 to 6 ft in the late morning and afternoon. Swell
mainly from the E with a dominant period of 10 seconds.

THU NIGHT
NW winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 30 kt. Seas
4 to 6 ft, subsiding to 3 to 4 ft in the late evening and
overnight. Swell mainly from the N with a dominant period of
10 seconds.
Station 44009 (LLNR 168) – DELAWARE BAY 26 NM Southeast of Cape May, NJ
Conditions at 44009 as of (5:50 am EDT) 0950 GMT on 03/21/2018

	Wind Direction (WDIR):	NNE ( 20 deg true )
	Wind Speed (WSPD):	27.2 kts
	Wind Gust (GST):	35.0 kts
	Wave Height (WVHT):	12.1 ft
	Dominant Wave Period (DPD):	11 sec
	Average Period (APD):	6.7 sec
	Mean Wave Direction (MWD):	ENE ( 74 deg true )
	Atmospheric Pressure (PRES):	29.50 in
	Pressure Tendency (PTDY):	-0.03 in ( Falling )
	Air Temperature (ATMP):	39.2 °F
	Water Temperature (WTMP):	41.0 °F
	Dew Point (DEWP):	39.2 °F
	Wind Chill (CHILL):	27.1 °F
	Wind Speed at 10 meters (WSPD10M):	27.2 kts
	Wind Speed at 20 meters (WSPD20M):	29.1 kts