Tropical Storm Elsa Makes A Whimper

By MADDY VITALE Tropical Storm Fay packed a punch in July of 2020, bringing heavy rains and winds to the shore. The following month, Tropical Storm Isaias made its way up the coast, leaving property damaged, downed trees and utility wires, and a tornado touched down in Marmora. Then there was Elsa. It came in Thursday night into Friday morning. Luckily “she” did not have the strength of her recent Tropical Storm counterparts. In fact, Elsa blew in, brought some rains and winds, but did not cause any damage or erosion or even a little bit of tidal flooding, officials in Ocean City said Friday afternoon. “Ocean City was very fortunate with Tropical Storm Elsa. Even though the center of the system passed very close to Ocean City, the storm moved quickly overnight and left no damage,” Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian said in a statement. “But events like that are always a good reminder about the importance of being prepared.” In all, Ocean City Public Information Officer Doug Bergen, said Ocean City had a little more than two inches of rain. Bergen said he didn’t know of any property damage, downed trees, erosion or power outages. “The storm moved past quickly and at low tide. Tidal waters never even approached minor flood stage, and the peak wind gust recorded at the 59th Street station was just 46 mph at 2:33 a.m.," Bergen noted. "The mayor opened up municipal parking lots to give our visitors safe parking off the streets, but flooding was not a major issue.” Dave and Andi Frearson, of Ambler, Pa., with their children from left, Jase, Jack and Layne, relax on a good beach day. For beachgoers and others enjoying the sun, sand and surf Friday, it was just another glorious beach day. And for day-trippers who opted to forge ahead with their plan to come to Ocean City and those coming for a weekend getaway, the easy going Elsa was a pleasant surprise. Sunny skies, balmy temps and green flags signaled a pleasant beach day. Umbrellas dotted the landscape and sunbathers took dips in at 34th Street beach. Robyn Craig, of Glen Mills, Pa., and her 13-year-old daughter, Payton, and Carrie Hughes, of Aston, Pa., and her 10-year-old daughter, Charleigh, lounged on beach chairs to soak up some sun. The Craigs have a second home in Marmora and Hughes and her daughter came down for the day. “We weren’t sure if it was going to rain all day, but thank God it didn’t,” Craig said, adding she was happy her friend could come down. “We are lucky the storm was in the middle of the night.” Carrie Hughes said she and her daughter had the day trip planned for a while. “She packed three days ago,” Hughes said. But she did have her reservations about what Elsa could bring. “I was thinking I could be driving toward a hurricane, but Charleigh packed," she said "We wanted to come down and it looked like it was clearing up.” Carrie Hughes, of Aston, Pa., in foreground, Robyn Craig, of Glen Mills, Pa., and children, Payton Craig and Charleigh Hughes, seated, enjoy the day. Dave and Andi Frearson, of Ambler, Pa., and their children Jase, 7, Jack, 13, and 19-year-old daughter, Layne, sat on the beach enjoying the beautiful weather. The Frearsons, whose 17-year-old son, Maxwell, is a first-year Ocean City lifeguard, are staying down at the shore for the summer. On Thursday night they went to dinner at a restaurant in Stone Harbor. They had no idea what to expect of then-impending Tropical Storm Elsa. “We drove back through the different towns to see if there was any damage,” Dave said of the drive back after dinner. “It was coming down in buckets on our way back from dinner,” Andi chimed in about the rains near 9 p.m. Thursday night. “Luckily there was no damage.” And for the family, their main concern was whether Jack's basketball game would be canceled. He plays in Ocean City's summer basketball league. "That was our big concern," Dave added. Luckily, because Elsa brought little in the way of a storm, the game went on as planned. Beachgoers head onto 34th Street beach.