High Surf — Barnstable, Massachusetts

2018-09-29 · Barnstable, Massachusetts

Event narrative

A 27-year-old man walking along the shore at Ballston Beach in Truro Massachusetts was swept into the surf around 12:30 PM EST. He was fully clothed and walking on a narrow stretch of beach that only had 4 or 5 feet of sand next to the water. The surf/waves, which were pounding the shore that day, came by and literally knocked him off his feet and swept him fatally out to sea. His body was found one mile north of the beach the next morning.

Truro Police and Fire along with a State Police helicopter and a U.S. Coast Guard vessel and helicopter all responded to assist in the desperate search. Some family members reportedly also tried unsuccessfully to reach the victim.

Wider weather episode

Coastal low pressure moving along a cold front on Friday Sept 28th passed south and east of Cape Cod, then departed south of Nova Scotia on Saturday Sept 29th. Northwest winds of 10 to 15 knots trailed the cold front and lingered over Cape Cod through Saturday. Observed seas from a NOAA data buoy 9 miles north of Provincetown showed 5 foot sea heights and 15 to 16 foot periods through the morning and early afternoon.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 786876. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.