Long Period Swells from Hurricane in Atlantic Causing Dangerous Surf Conditions at Jersey Beaches

With the approach of the Labor Day Holiday Weekend, many residents from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are headed to the Jersey Shore for one last fling before summer ends.  Hurricane Cristobal, an unwanted guest at Garden State beaches, is still making his presence felt.  No direct threat to land, the Category One storm is still producing dangerous effects.

Located some several hundred miles from Halifax, Nova Scotia in the Canadian Maritimes, Cristobal is still a minimal hurricane with 75 mph winds.  The storm formed in the Eastern Caribbean last week, and gradually headed northward where it dumped a good deal of rain in the Southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos islands.  Since then, Cristobal continued on a northward, and then a north-northeastward track between Bermuda and the East Coast of the United States.

With maximum sustained winds that have ranged between 75 and 80 miles per hour, Hurricane Cristobal has been able to generate a good deal of wave action and dangerous surf conditions all along the United States Eastern Seaboard from Florida into New England.  New Jersey began feeling the effects of the long period swells on Wednesday when waves measuring 3 to 5 feet above normal came crashing ashore.  The heavy surf and dangerous rip currents have resulted in advisories being issued by the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly for Jersey beaches.

Still many have gone into the water, and for some, it has come with a price.  On Wednesday, the Asbury Park Press reported that a 17 year old boy drowned in Sandy Hook after being overwhelmed by the treacherous waters.  Further south in Ocean City, Maryland, another person died after being caught up in the dangerous surf.  The long period swells being generated by Hurricane Cristobal are expected to continue for another 24 hours or so.  Wave heights are expected to be anywhere from 3 to 7 feet along the Jersey Shore depending upon, which weather service you follow.

Meanwhile, along ocean facing beaches in Long Island, the surf conditions are expected to be a bit worse.  Wave heights are forecast to be between 5 to 8 feet with some locally being as high as 8 to 10 feet.  Further north near Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket, seas could get as high as 12 feet.  So, if you don’t have to be in the water, don’t go in.  On the west coast in Southern California, there have been 130 rescues made by lifeguards there in response to the historic waves and surf created by what’s left of Hurricane Marie in the Eastern Pacific.  If you are in the water, and get caught in a rip current, don’t panic and swim parallel to the shore, the rip current will eventually let up.

GWC and Hurricaneville plan to head to Long Beach Island on Thursday to take in the wave action and surf there.  Pictures and video from the visit will be posted later.