Hurricane Irene made her way up the Atlantic Coast on Saturday, the 27th day of August, 2011. We all watched as she made landfall in North Carolina. The preparations for her arrival had already begun in Ocean City Md as all J1 Visa workers had been evacuated on the 25th day of August. Vacationers (visitors) were mandated to evacuate by noon on Friday the 26th. Property owners were under mandatory evacuation orders by 5 PM on Friday the 26th of August.
The drama begins to unfold as we ponder what is going to happen here in Ocean City Md when Hurricane Irene visits our coastal communities. Everyone I know is seeking out their options as to departing, when, where, or not! Is it better to stay and know what is happening and prepare for the worst here or leave and worry about what we would find when we returned ?
PREPARING FOR IRENE IN OCEAN CITY MD
I personally was busy with work tasks on the 25th, and Friday was my day to prepare for departure. I did manage to BBQ thursday evening 2 Cornish Hens which I had previously taken out of the freezer and feared they would spoil if i did not cook them. My choice was to bbq them as ” beer butt chicken style” ..
They were delicious and served as dinner meals for 2 nights easily for myself and interns here.
On Friday, there were many tasks for me to accomplish – Tape up a few Easterly facing windows, lower the umbrellas on 4 picnic type tables in the yard and on decks. Tie up exterior chairs in the yard and on the decks, and otherwise pack away anything else external which could possibly blow in the wind. By 3 PM I found myself mowing the lawn, so that we would look our best for Irene. I waivered between evacuating and staying here in North Ocean City MD .. After observing off and on the disorganized hurricane make it’s way up the coast, and suspecting that the Category 2 would become a category 1 or less by the time it made it’s way to Ocean City Md., I turned down offers to evacuate inland and decided it’s best to stay put about 4 blocks off the beach here in Ocean City MD .. The police department had already been through the area to find out if anyone was remaining. I suggested to them we would probably evacuate the next day around 12 noon. As it turned out, we stayed in Ocean City MD as winds were not the category 2 but reduced to category 1 or less.
IRENE STARTS TO ARRIVE IN OCEAN CITY MD
Saturday the 27th, the day began with intermittent rain maybe at 9 AM .. and through out the day it rained. The stronger winds found their way to our shores around 5 PM and continued throughout the night. During my monitoring of the wind and rain in Ocean City Md , there must have been almost 8 inches of rain (there were hours during this day when over 1 inch fell per hour) during the day and wind speeds varied – actually fluctuated wildly between 20 MPH and 50 MPH .. the highest wind gust i saw before midnight was 53 miles per hour. (from a wx data center at 127th ST – maybe 50 yards from the beach in Ocean City MD) .
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IRENE LEAVES OCEAN CITY MD
I woke up off and on through the night and found similar wind speed and actually the heavy rainfall slowed down dramatically before 5 AM Sunday. I slept again and anxiously awaited daylight hours. After daylight, I planned to visit the beach as soon as the wind subsided, as there were still gusts of 40 MPH outside. We finally drove over to the beach front at 1 PM and to my amazement, the dunes and dune grasses were still intact. Beach Cross overs were hardly touched and it was then that I realized that there was not much of a wind impact on our shores. We did enjoy many inches of rain, but typically here it ends up in the bay situated to our west and finds it’s way eventually out into the ocean. We enjoyed 100% electricity uptime during the entire 2 days. Our neighbors to the west didn’t fare so well, with flooding and electrical outages inland Maryland and Delaware. Creeks and streams flooded, and there were many regions with electricity outages lasting 24 hours or so.
BLUE SKIES AND BEACH WEATHER RETURN TO OCEAN CITY MD
The weather forecast now looks great for the remainder of the week. The sky is clear blue, temperatures are PERFECT .. highs of 80 and lows of 65 or so .. with gentle breezes .. Now is the time to get to the beach and enjoy our beautiful last days of August and the entire month of Sept and most of October’s wonderful weather At The Beach in Ocean City MD ..
It’s time to GO FISHING At The Beach Ocean City MD or Fenwick to Lewes DE .. At The Beach or just plant a beach chair in the sand and enjoy the fresh salt water fresh air, sunshine and gentle breezes..
If you are heading for the beach for a short get a way ? Check our BEST HOTEL RATES – OCEAN CITY MD portal!
If you desire a 3 or more day stay At The Beach in Ocean City MD or Coastal Delaware, rent a vacation condo – Vacation Condo Rental Companies Ocean City MD and Delaware Beaches
