Hurricane Sandy, White Horse Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

High tide at White Horse Beach during Hurricane Sandy.

 

Same view on a pretty summer day (with a lower tide).

 

The rollers kept coming in driven by the 40-60 knot winds, an incoming high tide, and an almost full moon.

 

5-6 hours later, the waves receded with the outgoing tide even though the wind intensified.

This beachfront property sits comfortably atop a 30-foot high stone breakwater wall near Manomet Point and enjoys a spectacular view no matter the weather.

 

I wonder if any of the buoys blew off this shed? Throughout the day, I was surprised by the limited number of objects seen blowing across the ground.  New Englanders are used to strong storms and seem to keep their stuff anchored down pretty well.

Just a mile away from White Horse Beach on top of Manomet Bluff, the wind compressed against the bluff and then raced up the slope and over the edge with an intensity I don't think I have ever felt in my life.  All plant growth was forced to bend parallel to the slope.  The sustained velocity was impressive and a reminder of how small our human presence is in the face of nature's most powerful events. 

And lastly, there were white caps on Bartlett Pond. Unusual but, I've seen them many times during other "regular" storms over the past dozen years.  All in all, I was one of the lucky ones - no death, injury, damage, nor loss of any utility services.

 

So often, we chide meteorologists for flawed forecasts but, this time, they accurately predicted the storm path days in advance allowing public safety and political officials to get out the word and implement sound plans.  Kudos to the meteorologists!!

 

Here is a short video clip at high tide at White Horse Beach.