The past weekend’s nor’easter caused significant beach erosion, dune damage and flooding along the South Jersey coast, according to Stockton University’s Coastal Research Center.
Here are comments from Steve Hafner, principal investigator and research scientist at Stockton University’s Coastal Research Center:
During a nor’easter in South Jersey, the most significant damage occurs at the northern end of the barrier islands due to direct exposure to waves out of the northeast and dynamic inlet currents rapidly moving sand during the tides.
This storm followed these trends as the north-end beaches in every shore town from Brigantine to Avalon were affected. Beaches were flattened in elevation and dunes were cut, leaving steep near-vertical escarpments behind.
In North Wildwood, waves topped the seawall and the remaining beach and dunes to the south and along the inlet were heavily impacted. The waves and tidal surge flooded even the wider Wildwood beaches, sending water under the boardwalk.
On Long Beach Island, the southern end of the community in Holgate suffered substantial damage to its beach and dunes.
Although the storm occurred during a full moon that contributed to the severe tidal surge and overall flooding, things could have been much more severe if it weren’t for the in-place beach nourishment projects along most of the coast. These helped to reduce property and infrastructure damage from direct wave impacts.
Flooding was severe in many communities, especially those lower-lying areas that likely resulted in property damage, but most of that was created by back-bay flooding rather than waves over washing street ends.
The fact that the storm came very early in what is predicted to be a historic El Niño season could be very problematic for New Jersey coastal communities this fall and winter. During a typical El Niño, the mid-Atlantic shorelines can see an increase in the number and intensity of coastal storms. If there is insufficient time for sand to move naturally back on shore from the offshore bars in between storms, the vulnerability increases and impacts will be intensified.
Stockton’s Coastal Resource Center will have more on specific damages in the coming weeks as crews return from surveys that will be shared with community and state officials as they prepare their storm damage assessments.
