Well fall is here, I guess we can call it an early fall. I think we are in store for things to go early this year. Cooler temps, both air and water, the anticipated foliage color change and drop, fall storms, and a cold and snowy winter. I haven't checked the Farmer's Almanac but that's what I'm feeling.
Down south hurricane season is upon them and they are anticipating Idalia making landfall tomorrow. My mom is down in Bradenton, south of Tampa, and they have started to batten down the hatches with mandatory evacuations in place in some sections of the Gulf Coast. She's a bit inland but the swath from the storm could affect her. Remember last year Hurricane Ian hit in late September and destroyed Sanibel Island, kind of out of the blue.
Yesterday on the way home from work I passed the New Jersey Task Force 1 heading south. It was a caravan of search and rescue vehicles and boats that were deployed in anticipation of the upcoming storm. As they predict now it may land as a Category 3. Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the coast as a Cat. 3 on August 29, 2005.
It's not just the wind and rain that these storms bring but the tidal surges and flooding, as we saw with Sandy. Although thousands of miles away from the Jersey Shore the affects may be seen. The full, Blue Moon, is on August 31st and the high tides are around the 7's, am and pm.
We can't control Mother Nature. We've tried but failed. She takes our homes, towns, and lives but we go back and rebuild. We pump sand on her beaches and she takes it away. The cycle is a continuous one. Happens every year. On the beaches most of the good structure is obliviated by southern summer winds and the littoral current which fills in structure and shoals up the south sides of the jetties and groins. You can see a recent pic I took while down in Deal.
Big moons, tides and storm surf arrive each fall and cut into the beaches. It's something we as fly anglers look for. Structure gives bait a place to hide and predators a place to hunt. Structure also affects the currents, which becomes like a highway for travel of baits, especially small baits.
While it looks like Idalia may make a right turn into and out of Florida we may see some effects on the beaches here. It's storm season so if its not hurricanes it's Nor'easters we have to watch which occur from September through April.
Thoughts and prayers pre-storm for the people in the South, including my Mother. Let's see how they come out of it on the other side. Fingers crossed.