Hurricane Erin nonetheless churning Long island waters, closing Suffolk ocean seashores to swimming by way of Saturday morning

Hurricane Erin turned away from the East Coast Friday morning however the massive, highly effective storm continued to churn up Long Island’s ocean waters, forcing officers to maintain swimmers from getting into the ocean by way of Saturday morning.

The Suffolk County Department of Health Services mentioned Atlantic seashores in Suffolk County would stay closed to swimmers by way of Saturday morning on account of hazardous rip currents from the storm which might be anticipated to stay over the weekend. Earlier within the day, the division had mentioned the closures would final till Saturday night time.

“Saturday and Sunday both have a high rip current risk,” James Tomasini, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton, mentioned in a cellphone interview. Forecasters mentioned coastal flooding and excessive surf are additionally a priority each days even because the storm pulls away.

But situations are then anticipated to “gradually improve,” he mentioned. “The swell that was affecting us from Erin will gradually be lowering as we get into next week,” Tomasini mentioned.

Lifeguards will “analyze surf conditions” within the morning at state parks seashores to find out if it’s protected to authorize swimming, mentioned George Gorman, regional director of state parks on Long Island. During Friday afternoon, waves at Robert Moses State Park nonetheless reached an estimated eight to 10 toes, he mentioned.

At Fire Island’s Watch Hill and Sailors Haven, lifeguards have been actively retaining bathers out of the water, mentioned Scott McCormick, deputy superintendent of Fire Island National Seashore. He mentioned it is “too early to tell” if rip present situations will subside this week, including, “Once it’s safe to do so, we’ll return to swimming.”

Nassau County seashores alongside the Atlantic Ocean, together with Tobay Beach, Long Beach, Point Lookout Beach and Lido Beach have been closed to swimming Thursday and Friday, however some officers mentioned they might assess situations Saturday morning to find out if bathers may re-enter the water.

Erin leaves erosion, flooding

The storm, which chugged alongside a whole bunch of miles off the coast of Canada, weakening to a Category 1 hurricane Friday, additionally left Long Island seashores with important erosion, officers mentioned, in addition to some minor avenue flooding.

East Hampton Councilman David Lys mentioned the city dodged the “head-on bullet” of the storm. The city’s supervisor and emergency administration workforce met at 7:30 a.m. Friday to judge seashore situations and located “many of our beaches have lost a lot of profile of sand, but at the same time held up.”

At Ditch Plains Beach in Montauk, water reached sand boundaries however did not breach them, and the current Army Corps of Engineers undertaking designed to guard downtown Montauk “did its job — it dissipated wave energy,” Lys mentioned, including that the trouble protected “some of the critical infrastructure in the hotels.”

Lys mentioned he is hopeful “southwest swells over the next couple weeks and months will help heal the beaches naturally” after Erin precipitated widespread erosion.

Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino mentioned Tobay Beach suffered “significant erosion” from the storm. Town employees will “reorganize the sand to make sure that we have enough beach for beachgoers on Labor Day weekend,”

Streets in Mastic Beach close to the Great South Bay have been flooded Friday morning.

Joseph Alesi, 61, who lives on the intersection of Riviera Drive and Hickory Road, mentioned he skilled flooding on his avenue from each roads Thursday night time into Friday morning. He mentioned water got here as much as his side-door steps and thru his storage Thursday night time. He and his spouse parked their automobiles on a useful neighbor’s property on increased floor. “God forbid that storm came in any closer, we’d be done,” he mentioned.

Gorman mentioned “large pools” of water remained at Jones Beach after tides receded. Workers used bulldozers to create trenches “so that the pools of water” drained into the ocean, Gorman mentioned.

Despite the erosion at Robert Moses, Gilgo, and Montauk state parks, “There is still sand on the beaches, so we will be able to operate as normal,” Gorman mentioned.

Early Friday, spectators started trickling again to Smith Point County Park in Shirley, as large waves continued to hit near the shore. Sand had utterly engulfed the park’s decrease steps resulting in the seashore close to Tiki Joe’s restaurant round 7 a.m., as waves flooded increased onto the center stage.
Kevin Sheridan, 60, of Selden, arrived round 7 a.m. to take images of and see how dangerous the waves have been. “I’m shocked by how much the beach has eroded,” he mentioned. “But that’s Mother Nature.”

Wind gusts of 28-35 mph have been additionally anticipated alongside the South Shore all through Friday, creating harmful situations for boaters in addition to anybody getting into the surf. A small craft advisory stays in impact by way of to Saturday, the climate service mentioned.

Despite coastal impacts, climate situations shall be in any other case dry by way of Saturday. The climate service is monitoring a system approaching from the Great Lakes that would carry some showers and presumably thunderstorms Sunday into the start of the work week.

The National Hurricane Center was monitoring a disturbance a pair hundred miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands that has a excessive observe of growth, however Matthew Tauber, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Upton, mentioned that system is more likely to keep east of Erin’s path.