Historic Tide references for flooding in Cape May County

2006-10-06

CAPE MAY COUNTY

REFERENCE TIDE GAGE - CAPE MAY FERRY TERMINAL


  1. The Cape May Ferry Terminal tide gage is located along the Cape May Canal near the
    outlet to Delaware Bay.
  2. Oceanfront
    High and low tides on the oceanfront occur up to around 1 hour earlier than the high and
    low tides at the ferry terminal.
  3. Back bays
    The larger back bays of Cape May County (from north to south) include Great Egg
    Harbor Bay, Peck Bay, Ludlum Bay, Townsend Sound, Stites Sound, Great Sound,
    Jenkins Sound, Grassy Sound, Richardson Sound, Jarvis Sound and Cape May Harbor.
    There are a number of smaller bays and channels within and behind the barrier islands.
    High tides on the back bays of Cape May County occur up to 1 hour earlier than those at
    the ferry terminal. Low tides occur anywhere from 45 minutes before to 45 minutes after
    those at the ferry terminal.
    The back bays present a problem during prolonged periods of onshore flow. For each
    successive tide cycle that the back bays are not allowed to drain, the water levels
    increase.
  4. Delaware Bay
    For the Delaware Bay shoreline in Cape May County the high tides occur up to about ½
    hour later at the north end of the county than at the ferry terminal. Low tides occur up to around 1 hour later.
  5. Data Acquisition
    In order to access data from the Cape May Ferry Terminal gage, use the National Ocean
    Service web site.


REFERENCE TIDE GAGE - CAPE MAY FERRY TERMINAL
The tide heights from actual events referenced in the table are those that were verified by the National Ocean Service. They may vary slightly from figures found in National
Weather Service publications.
In the table an asterisk (*) indicates that location experiences back bay type flooding.
Being that the reference gage is on Delaware Bay, the tide level associated with that
particular location may vary somewhat from event to event based on the number of tide
cycles during which there is an onshore flow.

ALL HEIGHTS ARE IN MEAN LOWER LOW WATER (MLLW).

Note: The Cape May Ferry Terminal gage was not in operation during the March 1962
Storm.

  1. 9.1 FT — September 27, 1985 (Hurricane Gloria).
  2. 8.9 FT — October 25, 1980.
  3. 8.8 FT — January 4, 1992; December 11, 1992 and March 3, 1994.
  4. 8.7 FT — SEVERE TIDAL FLOODING BEGINS.
  5. 8.5 FT — February 5, 1998.
  6. 8.4 FT — March 29, 1984 and October 31, 1991.
  7. 8.2 FT — January 2, 1987 and January 28, 1998.
    Flooding occurs along Dennis Creek around the NJ Route 47 bridge in
    Dennis Township. Flooding occurs on Avalon Boulevard (Cape May County Route 601) near Garden State Parkway Interchange 13*.
  8. 8.1 FT — March 19, 1996 and January 25, 2000.
  9. 8.0 FT — December 14, 1993; December 13, 1996; November 14, 1997 and January
    3, 1999.
  10. 7.9 FT — September 25, 1992 and February 24, 1998.
  11. 7.8 FT — December 20, 1995.

  12. 7.7 FT — MODERATE TIDAL FLOODING BEGINS.
    December 4, 1990; January 10, 1993; January 7, 1996 and March 7, 2001.
    Flooding occurs on the access roads to the Longport - Ocean City bridge.
    Flooding occurs on the access roads to the 34th Street bridge in Ocean City
    (Cape May County Route 623)*.
    Flooding occurs in Ocean City* from 34th Street to 55th Street.
    Flooding occurs on Sea Isle Boulevard (Cape May County Route 625)
    leading into Sea Isle City*.
    Flooding occurs on the access roads to the Ocean Drive bridge between
    Wildwood Crest and Cape May (Cape May County Route 621)*.
    Flooding occurs along Beach Avenue and New Jersey Avenue in Cape
    May.
    Flooding occurs around the Leaming Avenue - Elmira Street bridge
    between West Cape May and Cape May.
  13. 7.6 FT — Flooding occurs on the access roads to the NJ Route 147 bridge into North
    Wildwood* (including Spruce Avenue).
  14. 7.5 FT — Flooding occurs on the access roads to the 9th Street bridge into Ocean
    City (NJ Route 52)*.
    Flooding begins at the most susceptible locations in Strathmere.
    Flooding occurs along Landis Avenue in Sea Isle City (around 29th
    Street)*.
  15. 7.4 FT — Flooding occurs around 96th Street in Stone Harbor*.
    Flooding occurs along Park Boulevard in Wildwood Crest*.
    Flooding occurs around Yacht Avenue in Cape May*.
  16. 7.3 FT — Flooding occurs in Avalon along Ocean Drive and Dune Drive*.
  17. 7.2 FT — Flooding occurs in the Haven Avenue Basin area of Ocean City (24th
    Street through 34th Street)*.
    Flooding begins at the most susceptible locations in West Wildwood*.
  18. 6.7 FT — MINOR TIDAL FLOODING BEGINS.
    Flooding occurs on the access roads to the NJ Route 47 bridge into
    Wildwood (including Rio Grande Avenue)*.
  19. 6.6 FT — Flooding occurs at the boat ramp in North Wildwood* (the bay end of 5th
    Avenue).
  20. -1.8 FT — BLOWOUT TIDE.
  21. -2.7 FT — January 28, 1971.

 

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