Storm Surge Piling Up Water Along Beachfront In South Amboy

On Friday night, Bryan Norcross of The Weather Channel had indicated how the surge could cause problems for Raritan Bay.  So, I decided to check things out for myself.  After getting out of work early on this Saturday night, I traveled over to South Amboy to get into Waterfront Park.  However, the park was closed so I decided to check out Raritan Bay from some of the nearby homes.   

I’m no veteran of storms in South Amboy, Lawrence Harbor, Cliffwood Beach, or Sandy Hook, but I’ve traveled to those locations a number of times in the past five years.  Of all the trips I have made to Waterfront Park during that time, I’ve never seen Raritan Bay like it was tonight.  It was as angry as it has ever been.  For those, who were skeptical about the type of storm this could be, you would definitely reconsider if you had seen what I had seen earlier this evening.  Conditions are very bad outside, and about to get even worse.

In past storms including the coastal low that came up a couple years ago in September, Raritan Bay has shown no ill effects.  Tonight, it was much different.  The Atlantic Ocean was pushing its way into the shoreline in South Amboy.  Raritan Bay was swelled up dramatically.  Breakers and white caps came in with the rising tide.  Water pushing toward the shore. Winds were quite strong as well while the rain was coming down very hard.  The torrential rains consisted of big and fat raindrops.  

It was quite alarming to see how high the water levels were getting in the area of some of the recently built homes.  Keep in mind this was a couple hours ago when the stronger outer bands from Hurricane Irene were beginning to move in.  Also, while the weather has begun to pick up, the brunt of the hurricane is still very far away down near the Delmarva Peninsula.  I was in South Amboy for about a half an hour, and I was soaked from all of the rain that fell.  It was breathtaking to see how swollen Raritan Bay had become.  It was quite an experience.