We have some tough conditions on Outer Banks beaches right now and it looks as though that will continue through Saturday. It’s all courtesy of Hurricane Earl.
It’s pretty far out to sea right now—north and east of Bermuda—and moving away from us fairly quickly now, but it still generated a lot of waves. That ’s what we’re experiencing right now.
Usually when that happens, it’s a surfer’s delight. Not so much this time. There’s been a strong onshore wind all day to day and it’s creating a lot of chop in the surf zone. When were were out earlier, we didn’t see anyone trying to ride the waves. It would have taken a pretty good surfer.
The waves were big enough to ride, but the break was all over the place and a lot of the waves were cresting very close to the beach.
Tomorrow may be a little better.
Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills have fished their beach nourishment projects. The waves have pushed all the way up to the dune line in some areas, even though the beaches have been nourished.
That’s actually part of the process and to be expected especially right after a beach is nourished. What coastal engineers are trying to achieve with nourishment is infrastructure protection, which begins along the shore with beach protection.
What’s happening is some of the sand will go back out to sea, precipitate out of the water and form a sand bar around 30 or 40 yards off the shoreline. That sandbar is the key to protection, breaking up wave energy before it reaches the beach with its full force.
Kitty Hawk is just about ready to start their nourishment phase of the project. It should last about three weeks if the weather holds.
The Outer Banks is a showcase for the force’s of nature. Beautiful and wild, it calls out to be explored. Please stay with us at Brindley Beach Vacations when undertaking your nest beach exploration.