Storm Surge at Grayton Beach

[DBOldford]

Can anyone tell us how Grayton is doing with storm surge, at some point following Katrina's landfall tomorrow morning? Earlier today, we were told by someone in Walton County that they expect 30-ft. waves and a storm surge of up to 16 feet, which is hard to believe. Rumors run rampant during such a surreal time and the past year has made us all a little paranoid, I think. Sixteen feet was the storm surge we had with Opal, which was a direct hit. I know this is a much bigger storm, however. Will be interesting to see where this water goes since we lost so much sand to the previous storms. We are holding a good thought for our Gulf front friends and neighbors; the very last thing we needed at this time, unfortunately. Hope everyone stays safe and that our beloved beaches get some of that "net positive effect" that MarineBiologist waxes so eloquently about.

 

[Kurt]

Donna you know we will. ;-)

With all the storms and beach scrapings it only takes a couple of feet of surge to enable waves to break against what is left of our dunes.

 

[DBOldford]

Thanks, Kurt. Your eyes and ears down there (not to mention your calm demeanor) is very reassuring to those of us far away. Marty and I feel so conflicted...on the one hand worried about beach erosion and the loss of our dunes, yet this takes a back seat to the prospect of a great loss of life. I feel especially bad for those who had no options for evacuation and for the poor and/or infirm that are who-knows where as this monster churns in. Thanks for posting the aid and Red Cross info. We will write checks and address envelopes tomorrow.

 

[CampCreekLou]

Here's an interesting site reporting storm surge:

http://tidesonline.nos.noaa.gov/plotcomp.shtml?station_info=8729210+Panama+City+Beach,+FL+&flag=0

Does 4 feet sound about right to those who were there?

What about waves on top of that?

 

[Smiling JOe]

Here's an interesting site reporting storm surge:

http://tidesonline.nos.noaa.gov/plotcomp.shtml?station_info=8729210+Panama+City+Beach,+FL+&flag=0

Does 4 feet sound about right to those who were there?

What about waves on top of that?

Yes, I would say around 4 ft surge. The water is still up this morning, not as high as yesterday, but still higher than the norm.

 

[Kurt]

Here's an interesting site reporting storm surge:

http://tidesonline.nos.noaa.gov/plotcomp.shtml?station_info=8729210+Panama+City+Beach,+FL+&flag=0

Does 4 feet sound about right to those who were there?

What about waves on top of that?

Yes about 3-4 feet. Waves were 20 feet. The bay did not rise until after the storm made landfall and still has not receded. The Gulf is still very rough today and there is a stiff onshore breeze with scattered showers and fast moving clouds.

The beach (sand) at Grayton is very high and the lake outlet has filled in completely with sand all the way back to the houses there. The lake is high but it's not likely to open to the gulf again until we get a lot of rain.

 

[sunshine]

My completely unscientific study shows that about 2 inches of sand was added to the beach at Grayton between 3 PM yesterday and 8 AM today. I'll go back tomorrow morning and see if it looks like more was added today.

The Grayton Gulf front houses look about the same as after Dennis; they still have a bit of new sand in front of them. Gulf Trace looks like it has some problems. The water is so high right there and the Gulf front homes are dangling even more precariously than before.