Jersey Shore Hurricane News

Jersey Shore Hurricane News We've covered every major crisis in painstaking detail since 2011, including COVID since early February 2020. It's a free service to you.
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JSHN maintains a trusted, two-way information network for the Jersey Shore, gathering signals from communities and institutions, verifying and synthesizing them, and returning a continuously updated picture of conditions during significant disruptions. Since its inception in the days preceding Hurricane Irene in August 2011, JSHN has evolved into covering news, traffic, weather, and community oriented information throughout New Jersey. This is an altruistic volunteer effort driven by love of community. Our service has received awards from CNN, the United Way, the American Red Cross, the Philadelphia Pen and Pencil Club, and has been honored by the White House as a “Champion of Change.”

JSHN was created from an vision years in the making to develop an online journalism community on an existing social media platform to connect people, share information, and help others — more on that below. (That love of investigating and informing was created out of a boyhood obsession of chasing fire trucks when the firehouse siren blared in Seaside Park.) Also add in a lifelong interest in weather and hurricanes (https://auciello.tumblr.com/post/164530736/this-is-an-ongoing-journal-of-tropical-activity) and….. Hurricane Irene was the spark — hence the name — and we haven’t stopped in a decade. Even in the face of daily comments of “what does this have to do with hurricanes,” the name will never change. This is the original rough framework of what was to become JSHN in a blog post from March 2009 on the changing media landscape:

“This is why everyone now has a responsibility to serve as a citizen journalist, and social media is serving as a catalyst for this need. It is remarkable how individuals have so much power, by using social networking sites, writing blogs, etc, as a result of the nearly instantaneous reporting that is done on such a micro level. We all know that the newspaper industry will have to change radically if it is to survive. Inevitably, innovative news collection and reporting methods will appear. Recognizing this, the New York Times, as just one example, debuted a neighborhood blog service in early March 2009 to cover metro news, which relies partially on citizen journalists. We, the unpaid journalists, now carry a tremendous responsibility to report the news in our communities. In examining all sides of the issue, one has to accept this fate and work to ensure reporting thrives in this new reality.”

https://auciello.tumblr.com/post/91320812/old-media-is-dying-so-what-is-to-be-done



Also follow us on Instagram (.hn) and Twitter (). Read about JSHN:

https://www.niemanlab.org/2013/10/journalists-of-the-jersey-shore-how-a-novice-reporter-built-a-news-network-from-scratch/

https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2013/1017/Justin-Auciello-turns-Facebook-into-journalism-with-Jersey-Shore-Hurricane-News

https://localnewslab.wpengine.com/2017/03/09/jersey-shore-hurricane-news-experiments-in-listening-to-get-to-deeper-community-issues/

https://medium.com/1st-draft/how-a-one-person-newsroom-built-a-200-000-person-verification-network-7cde633d2853

https://www.inquirer.com/philly/opinion/20170227_Satullo__In_South_Jersey__grassroots_journalist_finds_his_niche.html

https://www.poynter.org/tech-tools/2017/for-local-newsrooms-covering-hurricanes-harvey-and-irma-the-story-is-just-beginning/

https://www.technewsworld.com/story/when-the-lights-go-out-social-nets-can-be-more-than-friends-76815.html

https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/articles/7-ways-to-get-your-covid-19-reporting-to-those-who-need-it/

Princeton TV appearance: https://vimeo.com/105046577

Reporting on WNYC:
https://www.wnyc.org/story/joaquin-and-noreaster/
https://www.wnyc.org/story/new-jersey-budget-stalemate-brings-state-closer-shutdown

We produced thousands of news reports (including investigative environmental pieces) for WHYY, Philadephia's NPR/PBS station, between 2013 and 2020: https://whyy.org/programs/down-the-shore/

“Citizen Watchdog,” a short profile on JSHN: https://vimeo.com/83795643

Portraits of the Jersey Shore appearance: https://www.facebook.com/portraitsofthejerseyshore/videos/4131199723568106/

JSHN in a college textbook:

Mobile and Social Media Journalism: A Practical Guide

https://books.google.com/books?id=OiHMDQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Anthony+Adornato%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y =onepage&q&f=false

JSHN examined in a doctorate dissertation:

Building online communities after crises: Two case studies

https://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/15687/Janoske_umd_0117E_15342.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

10/03/2026

SATURDAY ROUNDUP: WHAT TO KNOW AT THE JERSEY SHORE

One week after the nor’easter began battering the Jersey Shore, cleanup and damage assessments continue, while a busy fall weekend is moving ahead. Here's a look at the Manasquan Inlet, courtesy Surfline.com.

- Quieter weather today: The National Weather Service expects northeast winds around 15 mph and seas of 2–3 feet along the coast today, with only a slight chance of showers early. Conditions become unsettled again Sunday, with showers likely by afternoon and seas building to 3–5 feet.

- Storm recovery continues: Gov. Mikie Sherrill ended the eight-county state of emergency Tuesday but said recovery work is continuing, particularly along the coast. On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew joined FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NJDEP and state and local officials for a tour of storm-damaged South Jersey shore communities.

- Chowder weekend in Beach Haven: The Beach Haven Chowder Cook-Off weekend begins today with the free Merchant Mart from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. The ticketed chowder tasting is Sunday.

- Kites over Surf City: The LBI Kite Show continues today, with professional sport-kite demonstrations and large inflatable displays along the Surf City beaches between 12th and 5th streets. Most daytime events run from about 9 a.m.–4 p.m., with additional activities continuing Sunday.

- Last Brick Farmers’ Market of the season: The Brick Farmers’ Market wraps up its season today at Windward Beach. The market runs from 8:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. with produce, baked goods, prepared foods, crafts, flowers and other local vendors.

- Post-storm cleanups: Alliance for a Living Ocean is organizing cleanups today at Wally’s and Farias in Beach Haven, with additional cleanup efforts Sunday. Residents can also safely collect smaller storm debris in their neighborhoods or on public beaches, while avoiding sharp objects, exposed wires, chemicals, fuel containers and other hazardous debris.

Across the Shore, businesses and communities are getting back to fall weekends even as cleanup, erosion assessments and recovery continue.

See something we should know about today? Send it our way.

More than 5,000 people have joined Jersey Shore Hurricane News in the past two weeks. If you’re new here, welcome. I’m J...
10/02/2026

More than 5,000 people have joined Jersey Shore Hurricane News in the past two weeks. If you’re new here, welcome. I’m Justin, and I’m really glad you found us.

I started JSHN in 2011 around a simple idea: our fellow community members are more than an audience. They help us understand what’s happening.

We bring together official information with firsthand reports, photos, questions and observations from across the Jersey Shore, verifying information and getting it back out to the community.

You won’t see me very often, but I’m quietly out and about. This photo is from Sea Bright in November 2012, reporting on the recovery after Sandy.

JSHN has always been a network. People contribute in different ways, and at the core is a simple premise: sharing useful, reliable information benefits everyone.

That two-way model was unusual when we started, and it remains relatively rare today.

Whether you’ve been here since the early days or joined this week, thanks for being part of this community.

Federal, state, and local officials are continuing to assess damages from last weekend’s nor’easter.Gov. Mikie Sherrill ...
10/02/2026

Federal, state, and local officials are continuing to assess damages from last weekend’s nor’easter.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill toured Brigantine on Tuesday and said New Jersey had not yet requested federal assistance, but that it remained an option as assessments continued. NJDEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak said the state would work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on surveys and prepare a federal request.

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2) toured Long Beach Island, Brigantine, Atlantic City, Sea Isle City and North Wildwood with FEMA, the Army Corps, NJDEP and state, county and local officials.

Local officials described needs ranging from beach and dune restoration to infrastructure repairs and additional coastal protection. In Brigantine, officials pointed to major erosion near the North End seawall.

Van Drew described the storm as the region’s biggest nor’easter since Sandy and said recovery needs will vary by community.

Major beach nourishment work had already been completed or was underway before the storm. Army Corps contracts awarded this year totaled about $56.9 million for projects in Ocean City, Strathmere, Sea Isle City, Avalon and Stone Harbor through federal, state and local partnerships.

Impacts varied along the coast. Ocean County, including Long Beach Island, saw severe erosion and repeated back-bay flooding. At Holgate, on the southern end of LBI, the photo here by Cristopher Cace shows a sharply scarped dune line, a severely narrowed beach and rows of exposed old timber groins after the storm.

Atlantic and Cape May counties experienced major coastal flooding and beach loss, while parts of Monmouth County also dealt with serious flooding and erosion.

Officials are now documenting losses, identifying repair needs and determining whether additional federal assistance will be sought.

Van Drew has also called for a permanent federal fund for coastal protection projects, separate from any immediate storm-related aid.

WEST WILDWOOD FIRE PROMPTS WARNING ABOUT FLOOD-DAMAGED BATTERIES: A house fire caused by a golf cart exposed to floodwat...
10/02/2026

WEST WILDWOOD FIRE PROMPTS WARNING ABOUT FLOOD-DAMAGED BATTERIES: A house fire caused by a golf cart exposed to floodwater is prompting another warning following last weekend’s nor’easter.

The fire broke out shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday on the 600 West block of Maple Avenue. Wildwood firefighters arrived to find heavy fire on the three-story home.

The Cape May County Fire Marshal’s Office determined the fire was accidental and caused by a golf cart that had been exposed to floodwater. The cart was beneath upper-level decks, allowing the fire to spread rapidly up the exterior and into the home.

No residents or firefighters were injured. During a search, firefighters found the family dog on the third floor, carried it outside and provided oxygen before it was taken to a veterinarian.

Wildwood fire officials are urging residents to be cautious with electronic and battery-powered devices and vehicles that were exposed to floodwater.

Floodwater can damage batteries and electrical systems even after equipment appears to have dried out. Saltwater is especially corrosive and can leave conductive residue behind.

Lithium-ion batteries, which are used in many e-bikes, scooters, power tools, vehicles and other devices, can pose an additional fire risk if damaged or contaminated. Federal safety officials warn that problems may not appear immediately and a damaged battery can ignite days or even weeks after exposure.

Residents should not charge or operate flood-damaged battery-powered equipment until it has been properly evaluated. If a battery or device begins smoking, overheating, hissing or popping, move away and call the fire department.

(Image: Wildwood Fire Department)

POST-STORM CLEANUPS ACROSS LBI: Alliance for a Living Ocean is organizing community cleanups following the nor’easter, w...
10/02/2026

POST-STORM CLEANUPS ACROSS LBI: Alliance for a Living Ocean is organizing community cleanups following the nor’easter, which left storm debris across parts of Long Beach Island.

Cleanups are scheduled Friday from 12–3 p.m. at Surf Buggy; Saturday from 9 a.m.–noon at Wally’s and Farias in Beach Haven; and Sunday from 10 a.m.–noon at The D**e at the end of Sunset Boulevard in High Bar Harbor, followed by a Surf City Kite Festival cleanup at 8th Street Beach from 2–4 p.m.

The effort comes as LBI continues its recovery from the storm. Many businesses that dealt with flooding and cleanup have reopened, while Chowderfest and other events are moving ahead this weekend.

ALO says people can also safely pick up smaller debris in their own neighborhoods or on public beaches. Avoid sharp objects, exposed wires, chemicals, fuel containers and other potentially hazardous or unstable storm debris.

Register here: https://givebutter.com/post-storm-cleanups-cmfixm

FINAL HEARING TONIGHT ON ATLANTIC MENHADEN AS OSPREY FOOD STRESS CONCERNS GROWA final virtual public hearing is schedule...
10/01/2026

FINAL HEARING TONIGHT ON ATLANTIC MENHADEN AS OSPREY FOOD STRESS CONCERNS GROW

A final virtual public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday (today) on proposed changes to the management of Atlantic menhaden, an important forage fish for ospreys and other marine wildlife.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering Draft Addendum II, which includes options to reduce the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery cap by up to 50% and spread harvest more evenly through the fishing season.

The hearing comes as New Jersey osprey researcher Ben Wurst reports severe food stress and breeding failures along the state’s coast.

Wurst said Thursday that only two young fledged this year at the Sedge Islands Wildlife Management Area in Barnegat Bay, a colony that normally produces an average of about 40 young annually.

He said food stress was widespread across coastal colonies, with adults spending more time searching for prey and some chicks becoming emaciated and starving.

Food stress among New Jersey ospreys is not unprecedented. State wildlife biologists have documented periods of poor productivity and starvation in the past, with the availability of fish, including Atlantic menhaden, among the factors examined.

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey has documented a broader decline in osprey reproductive success in recent years and identified reduced availability of Atlantic menhaden in nearshore waters during nesting season as a key concern. In 2025, 57% of active nests with known outcomes failed to produce young, nearly three times the long-term average.

ASMFC’s 2025 assessment found that Atlantic menhaden are not overfished coastwide and that overfishing is not occurring, although the commission says no inferences can be made from that coastwide assessment at smaller regional scales. Wurst and Conserve Wildlife Foundation have focused on the availability of menhaden to ospreys in nearshore waters during the nesting season.

Public comment on Draft Addendum II remains open through October 9.

Register for this evening’s hearing:
https://asmfc.org/events/general-public-hearing-on-atlantic-menhaden-draft-addendum-ii/

Submit a public comment:
https://asmfc.org/actions/atlantic-menhaden-draft-addendum-ii/

10/01/2026

A QUIETER BAY HEAD AFTER THE NOR’EASTER: Drone video from Wednesday evening shows a calm scene along the beach in Bay Head following several days of turbulent conditions.

During the nor’easter, Bay Head police warned of extreme beach erosion as pounding surf stripped sand from the shoreline. By Sunday, Mayor Bill Curtis said all 11 of the borough’s beach access points had drops of at least 5 feet following the storm.

Last night, people were back along the beach, with groups chatting at the entrance where drone pilot JSHN contributor Amanda D’Addario entered.

From above, D’Addario said the scene felt “quiet, reflective, and almost reset” after the nor’easter.

ONE STORM, VERY DIFFERENT IMPACTS ALONG THE SAME LOCAL SHORELINEThese photos by and More General Store show the beach n...
10/01/2026

ONE STORM, VERY DIFFERENT IMPACTS ALONG THE SAME LOCAL SHORELINE

These photos by and More General Store show the beach near 13th Avenue toward the southern end of Seaside Park, two days after the nor’easter, where substantial erosion cut into the beach and dune.

What stands out is how quickly conditions change over a short distance. The first photo looks south toward the private Midway Beach community, where the beach becomes visibly wider. The second looks north into Seaside Park, where it widens again.

In these views, 13th Avenue sits along a comparatively narrow stretch between broader beaches in both directions.

For context, Seaside Park Ocean Updates measured the beach farther north, between Lafayette and Decatur avenues, at 243 feet before the prolonged onshore flow began and 193 feet about 10 days later, after the storm departed and winds turned offshore.

That is a 50-foot, or about 20.6%, reduction in measured beach width. The measurements were taken during similar low-tide portions of the tidal cycle, though not at exactly the same tidal stage.

Long-term monitoring by Stockton University's Coastal Research Center also documents major differences along this short stretch of shoreline.

At 4th Avenue in Seaside Park, Stockton recorded a stable dune more than 25 feet high and a berm about 100 feet wide before the 2019 federal beachfill. Following that project, Stockton measured the shoreline about 79 feet farther seaward than its fall 2018 position.

Just south at Midway Beach, Stockton documented a dry beach nearly 200 feet wide in 2014 and 2015. Later monitoring described a dune more than 25 feet high and about 150 feet wide, with a berm exceeding 100 feet.

Ecologist Dominick Solazzo points to another important factor behind the difference at Midway: its development pattern and local management. He notes that Midway’s shoreline development was established much farther west than in neighboring communities and says its wider dune system has also benefited from continued active management.

The wider beaches lost sand during this nor’easter, too. The point is that beaches do not respond uniformly, even within the same local area.

Pre-storm beach width and dune geometry, nourishment history, wave exposure and localized movement of sand can all influence how far erosion progresses and how much protective beach remains afterward.

And what is eroded is not necessarily gone for good. Storm waves can move sand offshore into nearshore bars, while longshore currents can redistribute it to nearby beaches. Under calmer conditions, offshore sand can migrate back toward the beach, though not necessarily to the same place it came from.

Recovery is uneven, and dunes generally take considerably longer to rebuild.

FIRE CAUSES EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO BLVD PIZZA, SINCERELY, JUNE IN BEACH HAVEN: A two-alarm fire broke out Wednesday morning...
10/01/2026

FIRE CAUSES EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO BLVD PIZZA, SINCERELY, JUNE IN BEACH HAVEN: A two-alarm fire broke out Wednesday morning at 610 N. Bay Avenue in Beach Haven, leaving BLVD Pizza and neighboring boutique Sincerely June heavily damaged.

Beach Haven Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 said crews were dispatched around 7 a.m. A deputy chief saw a column of smoke while responding and called for a second alarm.

The first crew on scene deployed two attack lines and began fighting the fire from outside while establishing a water supply. As additional firefighters arrived, crews moved inside and knocked down the bulk of the fire.

Firefighters then carried out extensive overhaul work and ventilated the roof to make sure the fire was fully extinguished.

Mutual aid came from Ship Bottom, High Point, Stafford Township, Parkertown and Forked River, along with Beach Haven First Aid, Stafford Township EMS and Beach Haven police.

No injuries were reported.

BLVD Pizza said its employees and owner are safe.

“It’ll be a long road, but we’ll come back stronger,” the business said. For now, BLVD is working to get its Surf City location back open and running.

Sincerely, June, located next door, also suffered heavy damage. The boutique said everyone was safe and thanked the community and emergency responders for the support.

“The support across this island is unparalleled & we don’t take it for granted,” the business wrote.

The fire comes just days after Long Beach Island experienced severe flooding during the nor’easter.

A GoFundMe organized by Okie’s Butcher Shop and LBI Source is raising money to support BLVD Pizza, Sincerely June and their teams as they begin figuring out what comes next: http://gofund.me/46180f894

The Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause.

(Images courtesy Beach Haven VFC No. 1)

Barry’s Do Me A Flavor at 309 Centre Street in Beach Haven took on water during the nor’easter, something owner Barry Ba...
09/30/2026

Barry’s Do Me A Flavor at 309 Centre Street in Beach Haven took on water during the nor’easter, something owner Barry Baxter says has happened only three times in four decades: during the 1992 storm, Sandy and this one. Employees even had to put out a small fire in an ice cream dispenser cabinet during the flooding.

Barry’s says it’ll be back open Friday, with some help from Poppy’s Ice Cream Parlour. Great to see one local business helping another get back on its feet.

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