Mother’s Day storm hammers Cape Region beaches
High winds and big waves from the Mother’s Day storm of 2022 pounded beaches along the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay.
In Rehoboth Beach, several feet of the oceanside dune washed away at the northern end of the Boardwalk, revealing and tearing down dune fencing.
In Lewes, the dune line took another major hit, and most of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control fence was destroyed. Left behind from the storm are 10-to 12-foot drop-offs in many areas. The main Lewes Beach parking lot had to be closed because of drifting sand.
In Broadkill Beach, the new dune system held up and protected houses, but the beach and dunes suffered major erosion.
The damage may not be done. The National Weather Service called for sun and sustained winds at 30 mph through Monday. Sun is in store for Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the NWS, but so are continued winds out of the northeast.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. Additionally, Flood moonlights as the company’s circulation manager, which primarily means fixing boxes that are jammed with coins during daylight hours, but sometimes means delivering papers in the middle of the night. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
