A second predicted extreme tide in Ocean City on Saturday evening failed to match the level of the morning tide — a sign that flooding conditions may be starting to improve as a coastal storm moves away.
The tide peaked at 8:18 p.m. at 7.7 feet on the mean low water scale, just below the tide of 8.04 feet Ocean City experienced in the morning. (See sample of historic Ocean City tide levels.)
Both tides represent the worst flooding Ocean City has seen since 2012’s Superstorm Sandy.
But with wind dropping from 50 mph to 30 mph by 7 p.m. Saturday as it shifted from northeast to north and with the storm subsiding, the worst may be over. Forecasters warn that one more high tide — at 8:11 a.m. Sunday (at the Ninth Street Bridge on Ocean City’s bay side) — could cause flooding.
Sunday’s forecast calls for sun and a high of 34 degrees.
Ocean City residents will awake to assess damage and begin the cleanup from flood waters that covered most of Bay Avenue, Simpson Avenue, Haven Avenue and West Avenue and their cross streets on Saturday.
The island was cut off from the mainland when public safety officials blocked access to all causeways leading to Ocean City on Saturday morning. The causeways reopened but public safety and city officials urged all residents to stay off the roads..
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Despite the wind and flooding, Atlantic City Electric reported fewer than 50 power outages in pockets scattered throughout Ocean City.
At 2:30 p.m., only three people were taking advantage of a shelter at Ocean City High School, though a small handful had been at the shelter earlier in the day. The Ocean City Fire Department was using its military surplus vehicles to navigate the flooded streets and reach people in need.
See also: Flooding Cuts Off Ocean City From the Mainland.
