1. Storm Riley – March 2, 2018 – USGS Reynolds Channel at Point Lookout

2. Storm Riley began with a diving down of the barometric pressure on March 1st and 2nd 2018.

3. This resulted in strong winds with gusts approaching Hurricane levels of 64 knots/74 mph.

4. The strong winds came out of the North/Northwest
The strong winds came out of the North/Northwest. This caused high surf and water levels on the north and south shores of Long Island.
North
90 East
180 South
270 West

5. Cloud cover increased.

6. This was a significant rain event with 3 inches of rain or more falling in many areas of Long Island causing localized flooding.

7. This was a period of Spring tide which occurs every 14 days due to the alignment of the sun, moon and the earth. Tides during these periods are at their greatest range between high and low. Note the difference between the predicted levels on March 1st
and March 6th. Unfortunately Riley arrived during the Spring tide cycle.

8. The actual tides on March 2nd were almost 2
The actual tides on March 2nd were almost 2.5 feet above what was predicted.

9. Storm Riley – March 2, 2018 – USGS Reynolds Channel at Point Lookout
Long Beach, Nassau County, Long Island
(Photo by: Ryan Morrill)

10. As might be expected the salinity plunged in response to the heavy rainfall.

11. The strong northerly winds brought cold air.

12. Water temperatures also dropped.

13. The strong winds came out of the North/Northwest
The strong winds came out of the North/Northwest. This caused high surf and water levels on the north and south shores of Long Island.
What was unusual about this system was that the Strong North winds continued for four days.
Much damage was caused by falling trees due to the heavy rain and strong winds.

14. This resulted in strong winds with gusts approaching Hurricane levels of 64 knots/74 mph.
The strong gusting winds continued out of the North for four days.

15. The actual tides on March 2nd were almost 2
The actual tides on March 2nd were almost 2.5 feet above what was predicted. The sustained strong North winds caused unusually high waves on the north shore of L.I. These same winds caused a surge in the ocean and south shore bays which kept water from draining at low tide, resulting with damaging high tides for five days.

16. Storm Riley – March 2, 2018 – USGS Reynolds Channel at Point Lookout
Here we go again! Luckily this new storm front did not become cohesive, winds shifted and decreased and Long Island was spared another flooding event.

17. These readings were from the USGS Point Lookout station on the north side of Long Beach Island.
They are available online at:
Similar presentations on Irene (2011) and Sandy (2012) are available at:
For comments or further information contact: Lou Siegel
Additional graphs from this storm are on the following pages.

18. Cloud cover increased.
Even though the rain had stopped and the sun returned the strong winds caused sustained high tides and localized flooding for 5 days.

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