The weather on the entire
North Carolina Coast is
HORRIBLE..... First of all we have a
"Super Moon"event taking place. I heard it on the TV this morning as I slipped in and out of sleep. Without googling it, I assume that in addition to a Full Moon; the Moon is at a point in it's orbit that brings it to it's closest position of the year in relation to the
Earth. This event by itself would cause abnormally high tides and extreme differences between high and low. This larger range of tide would obviously create more currents, in and out of our
Inlets, plus more Longshore Currents and more Rip Tides.
This alone would cause Coastal Flooding. More water and faster moving water than normal, that is flowing in and out of our
Inlets and
Passes will naturally lead to increased erosion in addition to the flooding. And anyone to who cares, you better take a look at both
Beaufort and
Hatteras Inlets if you want to remember what they "were"....... There has already been erosion in the past 3 years that will forever (In our Lifetime) change the way these
Inlets look. At both locales, there has been 1,000's feet of
Beach lost (I dare say 1/4 to 1/3 mile, but it would be a guess).
There has been hundred of Cedar Trees and other Barrier Island vegetation lost. These will not grow back in my lifetime, if they do at all. Beaufort Inlet has changed so damn much in the past 3 years, the LACK of PUBLICITY that this has received absolutely BLOWS MY MIND. Same thing at
Hatteras Inlet. These are the localities that I see and use the most. Perhaps its happening everywhere, I dont know. In summary, the
west end of Shackleford Banks is flat out melting into the
Ocean. At
Hatteras Inlet, its the
west end of Hatteras Island that is getting devoured by the
Ocean. The
north end of both
Ocracoke Island and
Bogue Banks pretty much comes and goes, but there has been not really been much "net change" in the time span that I've been paying attention.......
Back to the weather, the astronomical high tides, in addition to a strong High Pressure System to the North of us and a Coastal Low Pressure to the South of us has created a Pressure Gradient that is producing steady and somewhat gusty East and Northest Winds that are pushing waves on shore that is causing EVEN MORE WATER to pile up in Coastal North Carolina. (That might be the Longest Sentence Ive ever wrote. All you Grammer Teacher's put there remember, I am a Fisherman)... Finally, on top of all that, It's been raining on and off, very torrential at times, for the past 48 hours. The amount of water standing on
Ocracoke and
Hatteras Islands is unbelievable.
Highway 12 on
Ocracoke Island is underwater and thus, The
Hatteras Inlet Ferry Operation is closed down. There is literally no where to go if you ride across from
Hatteras to
Ocracoke..... What we got up here is a perfect scenario for a Coastal Flood, Astronically High Tides, Low Pressure to the South, Strong High Pressure to the North,,,, Any of those elements alone could cause minor Flooding.
Added together, and there is WATER EVERYWHERE..... Fortunately, the winds have been steady at around 20kts, with higher gusts.... If a little higher, the steady winds couldve been really problematic...
The worst part...... Evidently we are probably gonna miss a kick ass Eclipse tonight. Too Cloudy. A very rare "Red Moon" event that's happening tonight and peaking at 10:47 pm on the US East Coast according to one website I read. Oh well, hopefully we will get a glimpse....... Also, and more importantly to
Top Water Charters, these winds usually produce a
"Fishing Hangover" inshore. I do predict this: Once the
Ocean stabilizes after this Puff,
The FISHING is going to EXPLODE. Hopefully this event wont blow all the
Mullets to
South Carolina and/or scatter our
Menhaden schools.
We are going to need some Menhaden pretty bad because the King Mackerel are getting ready to Blow Up!
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