By Donald Wittkowski
It was a storm that wasn’t very stormy.
Despite predictions of torrential rain, wind gusts of 50 mph and moderate coastal flooding, Friday’s storm never really materialized in Sea Isle City.
“Nothing,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said dismissively.
Other than some minor street flooding at high tide Friday morning, the storm was a virtual no-show.
“It was very minimal around high tide,” Sea Isle spokeswoman Katherine Custer said. “They downgraded it (Thursday afternoon). It went from moderate to minor.”
As a precaution, Sea Isle placed “Road Flooded” signs on the streets that are usually vulnerable to stormwater. By Friday afternoon, most streets were completely clear of any flooding.
Coinciding with the morning’s high tide, Central Avenue from John F. Kennedy Boulevard to around 43rd Street had a few inches of stormwater on it, Desiderio said.
Landis Avenue at 47th Street also experienced some minor flooding, but the rest of the roads fared well, the mayor added.
“The normal streets were flooded,” he said.
On Thursday, the National Weather Service had issued a flood watch for Sea Isle and other coastal communities while warning of the possibility of heavy rain and strong winds.
With temperatures climbing into the 50s on the first day of winter, the most unusual feature of the storm was the thick fog Friday at the Jersey Shore.
While the storm left the coast relatively unharmed, parts of western and northern New Jersey were lashed by heavy downpours, gusty winds, flash flooding and power outages.
