Jersey Shore battens down for yet another storm

Towns along the Jersey Shore still trying to recover from Sandy are hoping the nor’easter moving up the coast Wednesday won’t cause a lot of problems.

But just to be safe, officials are urging residents in low-lying areas of Toms River and Brick Township to move to higher ground.

Wednesday afternoon, rain and wind were lashing coastal areas. The rain was expected to change to all snow toward night, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters predicted 1 to 2 inches of snow in South Jersey, with 2 to 4 inches for most other areas.

The stress that accompanies every new storm is emotionally draining for those living along the Shore, says Brick Mayor Steve Acropolis.

“We’ve done everything we can do on the barrier island to shore up our dunes or our levees if you will,” he said. “But when you get a 24- to 48-hour nor’easter with those winds gusting. it’s going to blow a lot of water into the back bays.”

Acropolis expects there will be some moderate flooding, but he doesn’t anticipate the storm surge will breach the dunes like Sandy did.

Toms River Police Chief Mike Mastronardy said he’s hoping the storm will not cause more damage to homes in areas devastated by Sandy where owners have been busy on repairs, installing new Sheetrock and electrical wiring.

He said the extra sand applied to the beaches to stave off flooding may do the trick.

“Here they are … putting in electric wiring, getting ready to go and if they have wash-over, if they have flooding, it’s all for naught,” he said. “So we hopefully have protected them.”