Ocean City was quieter than expected this weekend, with light rental activity and some buyers in town, but not the crowds that the improving weather and economic forecast would indicate. Perhaps the ocean is to blame.
That's right. That same ocean that folks flock to all summer is not helping us right now. We can't complain in general, because the storms all winter came out of the west, giving us blowout low tides and calm seas near shore. Beach erosion has been insignificant in comparison to most winters, so what's the problem?
Today dawned overcast at the shore, again. The sun broke through now and then, but the general tone was dark and damp and chilly. A quick ride to drop friends at the Atlantic City Airport brought sunny skies and 60 degree temperatures. Downright balmy. On the return trip, even nearby Somers Point registered 58 and sunny. By the time I cleared the Somers Point-Longport bridge, my car thermometer showed 55. As I headed up and over the span across the Great Egg Inlet into Ocean City, the numbers were scrolling downward. 48 at the toll booth. 47 on Battersea Road.
It's that darn ocean. The surf temperature has been just under 40 degrees. The land heats up, air rises, and that cold, damp air gets sucked in off the surface of the sea. Later in the spring, the change in air temperature and humidity can be so sharp and sudden that the cold air rolls in like smoke off the ocean, obliterating the boardwalk, the Ferris wheel and all familiar landmarks in the blink of an eye. It is worth being here to see it happen!