Nor'easter worst storm to hit Shore in decade

After two days of howling, haunting winds, driving rains and crashing waves, the worst coastal storm to pound the Jersey Shore in over a decade is slowly sliding out to sea.

But a coastal flood warning remains in effect until 10 a.m. tomorrow, with moderate flooding expected at high tides later this afternoon and in the morning.

In all likelihood, the storm's impressive and menacing waves will have erased significant amounts of precious sand from New Jersey's eroding beaches.

"When you got that much wave energy," said James Eberwine, the marine specialist at the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly. "It's going to be very ugly."

He said that the nor'easter, born of the remnants of Ida, generated the highest wave height ever recorded at the buoy off Cape May - 26.7 feet.

Jersey beach towns have been hounded by more than 55 consecutive hours of winds from the northeast. Winds gusted to 59 m.p.h. at Atlantic City, and to 40 m.p.h. at Philadelphia International Airport.

In Cape May County, evidently the hardest-hit by the storm, widespread flooding converted just about every building in Avalon and Sea Isle City into waterfront property. Streets were under water at high tide, right around daybreak this morning, with 4 feet of water reported behind the borough hall in downtown Avalon. Numerous bridges, roads and schools were closed.

Cape May recorded its highest tidal reading - 8.21 feet - since February 1998.

This was not quite what Linda Korbus, 32, had in mind when she agreed to house-sit for a friend who owns a home in Strathmere.

"I thought this would be a fun place to stay for a few weeks to help out a friend," said Korbus, who lives in Georgia. "But when you get to a point where the porch furniture might wash away, it's not much fun anymore."

Strathmere's was one of the beaches hammered by a storm last month, along with others from Island Beach State Park to Cape May Point.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection plans to survey the beaches on Monday and issue an assessment, said spokeswoman Elaine Makatura.

No decision has yet been made on whether the county would seek a disaster declaration.

The dangerous nor'easter grew from the remnants of Ida, which had meandered to the Carolina coast and re-intensified.

A sprawling, powerful area of high pressure, or heavier air, to the north, kept the storm from moving. And the difference in air pressure between the high and the storm, where the pressure was low, created potent winds.

Eberwine, who lives in Absecon, said that South Jersey, unfortunately, was perfectly positioned for the highest winds. This, he knew from firsthand experience.

"I couldn't sleep last night," he said. "Things were banging against the house."