Driving rain and gusts exceeding 50 knots slammed against the Outer Cape last night. Augmenting an already significant tidal flow, the storm thrust tons of wrack and debris through the marsh channels and against the one-lane tinkertoy bridge spanning the Lieutenant Island causeway.
Storm-Damaged Lieutenant Island Bridge
The windward railing collapsed under the strain.
Storm-Damaged Lieutenant Island Bridge
Along the shoreline along Turtle Point and Turtle Pass, the storm wrack piled 10 to 20 feet deep and several feet high. The surge reached far above the high tide line, raking nesting dunes and potentially drowning any lingering, over-wintered hatchlings. The extent of this tide matched the late January storm flood of last winter.