Strong Wind — Western Monmouth, New Jersey

2006-09-01 to 2006-09-02 · Western Monmouth, New Jersey

Wider weather episode

The combination of the remnants of Tropical Storm Ernnesto and a large high pressure system over eastern Canada produced heavy rain and flooding, strong and in some cases damaging winds, tidal flooding and beach erosion in New Jersey. The coastal counties were hit the hardest with both the tidal and inland flooding and high winds. Wind gusts in Cape May County reached to around 80 mph. Downed trees damaged homes, vehicles and churches. Over 200,000 homes and businesses lost power with more than half of the outages in southeastern New Jersey's Atlantic City Electric Service area. Over 260 wires were knocked down. All power was restored by the 5th. The Delaware Bay Buoy set an all-time record high wave height for September, 22.3 feet. Ten to fifteen foot waves were crashing along the shore line and enhanced rip currents and rough surf persisted through the 6th. Many Labor Day Weekend (storm hit hardest on Friday the 1st and Saturday the 2nd) activities were cancelled or postponed. Revenue was lost from people cancelling vacation plans. Rain spread from south to north during the day on the 1st and ended from south to north during the second half of the day on the 2nd. The heaviest rain fell during the day on the 2nd. Storm totals averaged one to three inches with amounts up to 5 inches in coastal counties. The heavy rain produced poor drainage flooding as well as some stream and creek flooding. In addition to the heavy rain, persistent and strong east to northeast winds caused tree and structural damage as the heavy rain loosened the root support and weighed down limbs. The strongest winds occurred overnight on the 1st into the morning of the 2nd. Atlantic facing beaches sustained severe erosion with localized damage to dune systems in Cape May, Ocean and Atlantic Counties. Moderate coastal flooding was reported in Raritan Bay with the afternoon high tide on the 2nd. In Monmouth County vertical cuts averaged 3 to 6 feet with many coastal municipalities reported wind blown sand, up to one foot deep. Asbury Park estimated it lost 30 percent of its beach. In Ocean County vertical cuts averaged 3 to 6 feet (with widths up to 100 feet wide) from Island Beach State Park northward and generally 2 to 4 feet from Barnegat Light southward. Lavellette reported severe damage to their dunes. All coastal municipalities reported wind blown sand. In Atlantic County, vertical cuts averaged 1 to 3 feet except in Atlantic City where they averaged three to four feet along with moderate damage to the dunes. In Cape May County, Ocean City had vertical cuts that reached 6 feet with severe damage to their dunes. In Strathmere and Sea Isle City, moderate dune damage was reported. The Geotubes were exposed at Whale Beach. Vertical cuts elsewhere in cape May County averaged 2 to 5 feet, but widths reached up to 150 feet in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. Minor tidal flooding was reported with the afternoon high tide on the 1stIn Cumberland County, about 4,500 homes and businesses lost power because of downed trees, with the greatest concentration in Bridgeton. Many businesses were closed on Saturday the 2nd because of the lack of power. The marquee of the Upper Deerfield Shopping Center was damaged by the winds. Crops were also beat down by the wind. Downed trees blocked several roadways and damaged at least one home in Vineland. Boats were beached ay Hancock Harbor as waves reached 4 to 6 feet in Upper Delaware Bay and tides were two and a half feet higher than normal.In Cape May County, the high winds caused a three story building under construction in Wildwood to collapse. In Ocean City, a couple of boats were pushed into the New Jersey State Route 52 Causeway and closed the bridge for 10 hours. Several boats in Cape May Harbor also came lose and became beached. In North Wildwood, the roof of the Montego Bay Resort was partially torn away. The hotel was briefly evacuated. Downed trees damaged homes in North Wildwood and Cape May Court House. Waves at the beaches reached 10 to 15 feet. At high tide on the 1st, back bay flooding occurred in Avalon and up to three feet of water on the roads in Sea Isle City. Cape May County was the hardest hit of all their service area and was the last area to have power restored on the 5th.In Atlantic County, a home in Northfield was damaged by a split tree. Four boats in Port Republic sank, 5 others were damaged. Two bridges were closed in the county because of poor drainage flooding near their bases. Flooding along the Black Horse Pike (U.S. Routes 40 and 322) in Egg Harbor Township also forced its closure. In Ocean County, the roof off a bath house was torn away at Seaside Park. Over 500 power lines were knocked down in both Ocean and Monmouth counties by downed trees as 37,000 homes and businesses lost power. In Loveladies, vehicles were blocked in by blowing sand. In Monmouth County, the strong wind tore down numerous trees throughout the county and ripped boats from their moorings in Atlantic Highlands. Two sailors were injured at the Earle Naval Weapons station when a downed tree fell onto their van. In Atlantic Highlands, about 21 boats broke free from their moorings, six were beached, four ran aground on rocks. Some were pushed as far west as the Naval Weapons Station Earle Pier. Damage to them was in the millions. Also about 200 feet of decking came off at high tide at Frank's Pier. The deck was repaired in time for ferry service to resume on the 4th. Trees fell through homes in Ocean Township and Neptune. Jersey Central Power and Light distributed water and ice as power was not fully restored in the county until the evening of the 4th. The racing card was cancelled on the 2nd in Monmouth Park. In Middletown Township, tidal flooding on the 2nd caused the Waackaack Creek to flood and stranded motorists. Roads were also flooded by the high tide in Union Beach. In Middlesex County, a downed tree damaged a home in East Brunswick. Trees in both Johnson and Roosevelt Parks were badly damaged. Sand eroded away from underneath the sidewalk at the Waterfront Park in South Amboy. A circus event was postponed because the tents could not be erected because of the strong winds. In Morris County, about 8,000 homes and businesses lost power. In Hunterdon County, about 100 trees were knocked down in 18 municipalities. In Burlington County, about 3,800 homes and businesses lost power. U.S. Route 206 was closed in Pemberton and Southampton because of downed trees. In Camden County, the Cooper River flooded in Collingswood and the westbound lanes of the Adam Wilson Boulevard were closed due to flooding in Camden. Tidal flooding also occurred along Newton Creek up through Collingswood. In Gloucester County, downed trees damaged one home in Gibbsboro and a pool in Deptford.The Cooper River at Haddonfield (Camden County) was above its 2.8 foot flood stage from 1034 a.m. EDT through 735 p.m. EDT on the 2nd. It crested at 2.97 feet at 345 p.m. EDT. The North Branch of the Metedeconk Creek at Lakewood (Ocean County) was above its 7 foot flood stage from 107 a.m. through 1005 p.m. EDT on the 3rd. It crested at 7.41 feet at 6 a.m. EDT. The Manasquan River at Squankum (Monmouth County) was above its 7.5 foot flood stage from 1145 p.m. EDT on the 2nd through 1100 a.m. EDT on the 3rd. It crested at 8.23 feet at 515 a.m. EDT on the 3rd. Actual storm totals included 5.05 inches in Marlborough (Monmouth County), 5.00 inches in Wset Cape May (Cape May County), 4.92 inches in Margate (Atlantic County), 4.25 inches in Cape May Courthouse (Cape May County), 4.20 inches in Chatsworth (Burlington County), 3.44 inches in Pequannock (Morris County), 3.36 inches in Vineland (Cumberland County), 3.29 inches in Hammonton (Atlantic County) and Cape May (Cape May County), 3.19 inches in Cream Ridge (Monmouth County), 3.18 inches in Deans (Middlesex County), 3.12 inches in Estell Manor (Atlantic County), 3.04 inches in Boonton (Morris County), 2.98 inches in Woodbine (Cape May County), 2.93 inches in Point Pleasant (Ocean County), 2.86 inches in Somerdale (Camden County), 2.80 inches in Pennsauken (Camden County), 2.77 inches in Willingboro (Burlington County), 2.75 inches in Princeton (Mercer County) 2.68 inches in Middlesex (Middlesex County), 2.65 inches in Westampton (Burlington County), 2.63 inches in Pittsgrove (Salem County), 2.52 inches in Wertsville (Hunterdon County), 2.44 inches in West Deptford (Gloucester County), 2.40 inches in Bound Brook (Somerset County), 2.32 inches in Trenton (Mercer County), 2.30 inches in Clinton (Hunterdon County), 1.93 inches in Seabrook (Cumberland County) and 1.80 inches in Pottersville (Somerset County). Peak wind gusts included 81 mph in Strathmere (Cape May County), 75 mph in North Wildwood (Cape May County), 72 mph in Ocean City (Cape May County), 68 mph in Cape May (Cape May County), 58 mph in Atlantic City (Atlantic County), 55 mph in Keansburg (Monmouth County), 54 mph in Sandy Hook (Monmouth County), 53 mph in Seaside Heights (Ocean County, 50 mph in Point Pleasant (Ocean County), 46 mph in Millville (Cumberland County) and 44 mph in Wrightstown (Burlington County). The low pressure system that was Ernesto moved slowly north from around Petersburg, Virginia at 5 p.m. EDT on the 1st, to near Fredericksburg, Virginia at 11 p.m. EDT on the 1st, passed close to Washington D.C. at 5 a.m. EDT on the 2nd, near Hagerstown, Maryland at 8 a.m. EDT on the 2nd, near Altoona, Pennsylvania at 2 p.m. EDT on the 2nd and accelerated northward and was just southeast of Buffalo, New York at 2 a.m. EDT on the 3rd. Of greater importance, was a strong high pressure system (greater than 1032 millibars) that remained over southeastern Canada and maintained the pressure gradient (difference) between it and the remnant low of Ernesto.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5535205. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.