The giant winter storm that’s battered the Northeast will take an unusual southerly track into the open Atlantic Ocean, setting up Florida for several days of big surf, nasty rip currents and coastal erosion.
Scott Cordero, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service’s Jacksonville office, told our Florida Times-Union news partner that the rapidly intensifying storm shares some parallels to the 1991 Perfect Storm, which inspired a book and movie and brought giant waves along the east coast.
“It’s so unusual and so deep and strong,” he said. “It’s kind of reminiscent of the ’91 storm. For the Northeast and New York, this is a historic storm, and it is epic. And even though it’s away from our area, it still has an influence on our maritime conditions.”
Related: Both Coasts Brace For Major Winter Storms
Surf forecasting sites have been buzzing with anticipation for days; on Friday, Surfline.comwas predicting surf along the Central Florida coast, which is more exposed than Northern Florida to the storm’s swell direction, to be two- to three-times overhead.
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Cordero said surf in Duval County is expected to be 5 to 8 feet Saturday night, building to 6 to 9 feet Sunday, making for likely the largest waves since Hurricane Irma.
He said because the storm will be so far away, the breakers will come in long 14- to 19-second intervals, more typical of Hawaii, say, than for Florida. Those swells are stronger than the usual short-period waves, he said.
“It really allows momentum to really bring a higher volume of water in between each period,” he said.
That could mean some trouble at high tides, which are already higher than usual due to a waning full moon. High tide Sunday at Mayport will be at 10:20 a.m. and 10:47 pm.
“Our biggest fear is probably toward St. Johns County, toward Ponte Vedra, into St. Augustine, even Palm Coast, for those folks who have had serious erosion already due to hurricanes Matthew and Irma,” Cordero said.
You can read a longer version of this story at Jacksonville.com.
