NORTH WILDWOOD – It was 54 years ago, March 6-8, when a nor’easter, dubbed the “Ash Wednesday Storm,” struck Cape May County in a way even old-timers couldn’t recall. That storm altered the beaches from Cape May Point to Ocean City to a degree that it has never quite been restored.
Sand dunes in Stone Harbor, roughly between 80th and 83rd streets, were eradicated, and are still on the rebound, although not nearly as high as pre-1962.
Many dwellings were devastated, some floated into the wetlands, others were knocked from their foundations, and still others caught fire and burned as firefighters were unable to reach them due to high water.
Boardwalks, the pride of Sea Isle City, Cape May, and Avalon were ripped apart and historic amusements on them were torn by waves.
In many places along the coast, high-water marks were etched on walls in pencil or marker. Those lines reminded those who later visited just how great had been the sea’s impact on those coastal towns.
Photographer Tom Kinnemand Jr., a North Wildwood native and Court House resident, recorded many storm images, some of which he shared to remind readers what happened over half a century ago.
Wind, moon, and successive high tides combined to inundate the peninsula in that landmark freak of nature.
