Coastal Flood — Western Monmouth, New Jersey

2010-03-13 · Western Monmouth, New Jersey

Wider weather episode

The pounding surf and moderate to locally severe coastal flooding took its toll on the New Jersey coast. The tidal flooding in Monmouth County brought back memories of the December 1992 nor'easter. Wave heights reached 7 to 9 feet. In Middlesex County, vertical cuts reached 2 to 3 feet. The tide washed away a waterfront walkway in Pert Amboy. In Monmouth County, on the Raritan Bay side, a 20 foot wide cut in a dune occurred at Point Comfort in Keansburg. Shore Boulevard was severely flooded. Smaller dune cuts also occurred in Bayshore, Port Monmouth and Belford. On the ocean side, 4 to 5 foot vertical cuts were common. Sea Bright lost fifty percent of its dune system. Tidal flooding along the Shrewsbury River spilled into homes and businesses in the central and southern side of the borough. In Manasquan, road damage occurred at the intersection of Third Avenue and Riverside Drive. In Ocean County, 3 to 5 foot vertical cuts were common. In North Beach, four houses were undermined by the erosion on Long Beach Boulevard. In Surf City, a 15 foot high and a 40 foot wide cut in the dunes occurred between 18th and 23rd Streets. In Ortley Beach, 30 to 40 percent of the beach was gone. In Seaside Park, bay flooding occurred and residents used kayaks. In Toms River, both Barnegat Bay and Toms River flooded. In Beach Haven, 10 feet of roadway was lost at Merivale Avenue. In Holgate, a 10 foot high by 16 foot wide cut in the dunes occurred in a residential area. In Atlantic County, 2 to 4 foot vertical cuts were common. Geotubes were exposed at Delaware Avenue in Atlantic City. The Black Horse Pike (U.S. Routes 40 and 322) was closed due to tidal flooding. In Cape May County, vertical cuts averaged 2 to 5 feet, with dune cuts reported in Avalon, North Wildwood and Cape May City.

The highest tides reached 8.89 feet above mean lower low water at South Amboy (Middlesex County), 9.00 feet above mean lower low water at Keansburg (Monmouth County), 8.32 feet above mean lower low water at Sandy Hook (Monmouth County). These were all moderate tidal flooding levels and in some places, the highest tides since December of 1992. In Atlantic and Cape May Counties, minor tidal flooding occurred. The highest tides reached 6.61 feet above mean lower low water in Atlantic City (Atlantic County) and 7.41 feet above mean lower low water at Cape May (Cape May County).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 222362. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.