Event Summary

As Hurricane Irene moved north along the Atlantic coast and interacted with land, it weakened and made its second landfall as a Tropical Storm near Little Egg Inlet along the southeast NJ Coast on August 28, 2011 around 5:35 am EDT. Tropical Storm Irene made its third landfall in New York City around 9:00 am. Irene brought sustained tropical storm winds, heavy rain, and destructive storm surge along with two confirmed tornadoes. At least 600,000 people were ordered (both voluntary and mandatory) to evacuate from storm surge and fresh water inland flooding. Widespread power outages lasted up to 1 week following Tropical Storm Irene. The maximum sustained wind measured was west at 45 mph at Newark Liberty Airport. The peak gust was west at 61 mph. The peak gust measured at Central Park was east at 60 mph. The large envelope of winds associated with Tropical Storm Irene pushed a 3 to 5 foot surge of water along Western Long Island Sound, New York Harbor, the southern and eastern bays of Long Island and southern bays of New York City. This resulted in moderate to major coastal flooding, wave damage and erosion along the coast, with heavy damage to public beaches and other public and private facilities.