Astronomical high tide and winter storm produce another sea tempest along the Midcoast

Sun, 03/10/2024 - 12:45pm
The ocean rose again to wash over seawalls and flood buildings along Bay View Street, in Camden, March 10, 2024.
Rockport Harbor, where the Goose River empties into the sea, March 10.
Camden Harbor, March 10, 2024
The Goose River, in Rockport, is brown with sediments running off of land, with the 1 to 2 inches of rain falling.
Rockport Harbor, 45 minutes prior to high tide, March 10, 2024.

    MIDCOAST — The March 10 storm picked up intensity soon after daybreak Sunday morning, and by high tide at 11:30 a.m., the ocean was sweeping over the land, just as it had done during the Jan. 10  and 13 storms.

    The wind was blowing a gale, with gusts up to 60 mph, coinciding with astronomically high tides. The combination drove high seas into the harbors of Penobscot Bay. None were immune from heavy, rolling waves, and seawater broke over the wharfs, washing up onto parking lots and into buildings lining the shorefront.

    A 1.5- to 2.5-foot ocean surge was in the forecast for midday Sunday at high tide. Today’s high tide just happened to be the highest astronomical tide of the month, at 11 to 12 feet, in Rockland.

    At the heaviest point in the storm, trees were falling from Friendship to Hope, keeping firefighters, public works crews and Central Maine Power busy with road closures and clean-up.

    As of 1 p.m., CMP listed the following outages:

     

    County Total Customers
    by County    		 Customers Without Power
    CUMBERLAND 177,513 3,939
    HANCOCK 6,419 367
    KENNEBEC 74,448 86
    KNOX 26,725 734
    LINCOLN 28,588 6,235
    OXFORD 42,746 1,479
    PENOBSCOT 15,069 20
    PISCATAQUIS 10,246 266
    SAGADAHOC 22,506 242
    SOMERSET 31,310 435
    WALDO 26,172 180
    YORK 128,768 5
    Total 675,386 13,988 
     

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