Ophelia Inflicts Major Damage to Parts of Fire Island

As you can see above, we have a difficult time ahead for our island, and it’s only October. Ophelia battered Fire Island’s east end more seriously than elsewhere, but island-wide we have great challenges facing us. This report is lengthy, but conditions warrant bringing you up-to-date and offering a look ahead. Tropical Storm Ophelia inflicted major damage on Fire Island beaches and dunes that were already eroded after Hurricane Lee passed by offshore. With five days of northeast winds and heavy swells over multiple high tide cycles, Ophelia hung around way too long and caused serious trouble. All communities were affected to some degree. Up and down the island, stretches of relatively minor damage alternate with swaths of severe berm and dune loss, sometimes even within the same community. This variation is primarily caused by gaps or ‘holes’ in the protective sand bar that sits right off shore. During a storm event, large waves typically break out on the bar and lose most of their destructive power. But holes in the bar can form and move along the island with the westward littoral drift, letting powerful waves roll all the way into shore causing ‘hot spots’ of severe erosion.