Ports Remain Closed After Hurricane Isaias Makes Landfall

The eye of Hurricane Isaias made landfall late Monday evening, August 3, near Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. Isaias returned rather quickly from tropical storm status back to hurricane strength in the hours before coming ashore.

The nearby Oak Island weather station measured a sustained wind of 76 mph, making Isaias a Category 1 hurricane. Isaias has weakened a bit, and is back to a tropical storm.

Yesterday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) issued port condition ZULU, temporarily closing the ports of Charleston, South Carolina and Wilmington, North Carolina. They issued restrictions at other Southeastern ports.

Anticipating the storm tracking through the mid-Atlantic today, the USCG announced last night that it was temporarily shutting down operations at the ports of Delaware Bay and Baltimore.

The USCG also announced last night that the Port of Long Island Sound was going under a condition X-RAY. All self-propelled ocean-going vessels over 300 gross tons and all-ocean going barges and their supporting tugs must immediately report their intention to depart or remain in port. If desiring to remain in port during the storm, a ‘Remaining In Port' checklist would have to be completed and submitted to the captain of the port (COTP).

As of 8 a.m. EDT today, Tropical Storm Isaias was moving across southeastern Virginia, centered about 15 miles south-southeast of Tappahannock, Virginia. Maximum sustained winds around the eyewall were measured by Hurricane Hunters to be 70 mph, and tropical storm force winds extended up to 140 miles from the eye of the storm. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects only a gradual decrease in strength as Isaias moves to the northeast, with a tropical storm warning continuing from the North Carolina coast to the Maine-Canada border.

Tropical storm force winds, heavy rainfall and a few feet of storm surge may lead to power outages and flooding from the mid-Atlantic to New England today through tonight. Large metropolitan areas like Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston are all under the gun.

SONAR Critical Events and radar: Tuesday, August 4, 2020, 8 a.m. EDT; Tropical Storm Isaias

As far as trucking freight, drivers will run into delays due to possible roadblocks and reduced visibility from torrential rainfall. The Interstate 95 and US-1 corridors could be particularly hazardous.

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Photo by Michael M on Unsplash