After three sunny, dry weeks, parts of the Outer Cape got over half a foot of rain between Sept. 19 and 22.
The National Weather Service reported that Eastham recorded 6.65 inches, while the Provincetown Airport recorded 3.18. Elsewhere on the Cape, even more rain fell, with a station in West Chatham reporting 11.69 inches.
Thanks to a combination of dry soil and the fact that the storm was spread out over a few days, the Weather Service reported “no significant flooding.” Nonetheless, some flooding did happen here. Gallery owners in Provincetown were bailing out their businesses, and sump pumps were running all over town.
The state halted shellfishing on the entire Cape plus parts of Plymouth County. Meanwhile, Bound Brook Island in Wellfleet was once again cut off from the mainland, the stairs at Marconi Beach were destroyed, and the Eastham Public Library had to close due to a storm-related leak.
Shellfishing Closures
The Mass. Div. of Marine Fisheries (DMF) closed all shellfishing grounds on the Lower and Outer Cape on Sept. 21. The closures were later extended to include all of Cape Cod and the South Shore up to Duxbury. According to the Cape Cod Commission, heavy rain can lead to closures when stormwater transports sediment, nutrients, pollutants, and bacteria from land into the surrounding waters.
“I expect this to be a temporary closure,” said Truro Shellfish Constable Tony Jackett.
Sarah Comstock, Deputy Shellfish Constable in Wellfleet, said in an email that state officials had performed water tests on Sept. 23 and estimated that, if the water meets quality thresholds, shellfishing would resume Sept. 25.
The last time that shellfishing was closed in Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown was Aug. 22, 2021, when Hurricane Henri triggered a precautionary statewide closure.
Bound Brook, Again an Island
Following repeated flooding of the roads to Bound Brook Island this winter, the Wellfleet DPW used gravel to raise Pamet Point Road two and a half feet — a temporary solution before the Herring River Restoration Project raises the road permanently, within two and a half years, according to a June 2024 estimate by DPW Director Jay Norton.
But this weekend’s storm, coinciding with an exceptionally high tide, led to flooding on Pamet Point Road yet again on Saturday.
“We were all shocked that the raised road went underwater,” said Nathaniel Taylor, who owns a house on Bound Brook Island. He estimated that parts of Pamet Point Road were under three to five inches of brackish water — “enough that you’d hesitate to drive through it.”
Peter McMahon, director of the Cape Cod Modern House Trust, which manages the Hatch house on the island, noted that when the restoration project is completed, the area’s drainage will improve, so future floods shouldn’t last as long.
“Century storms are happening every decade,” said Taylor. “I think we should prepare for Bound Brook Island to resemble something like Lieutenant Island,” he said.
By Sept. 23, the floodwater had receded enough for vehicles to get through.
Norton noted in an email to island property owners that his team is assessing the need for more material on the road and is attempting to move the permanent road-raising forward.
Marconi Stairs Destroyed
The wooden stairs at Marconi Beach were washed away over the course of the three-day storm, said Susan Reece of the Cape Cod National Seashore in an email to the Independent.
The stairs were replaced this past spring, which cost the National Park Service $246,000. The old stairs were five years old and had to be replaced because they showed signs of significant rot, Reece said.
Photos posted on social media showed wooden structures presumed to be from the stairs washing up as far away as Nauset Light Beach and Hemenway Landing in Eastham.
By Tuesday morning, maintenance workers had removed the remaining portion of the stairs and were working on removing the boardwalk that once led to them as well.
Reece said that the park is considering a variety of options including a path down the dune like the one at Nauset Light Beach.
Damage at Eastham Library
A “pretty extensive” leak in the roof of the Eastham Public Library was tied to the storm this weekend, according to librarian Corey Farrenkopf, causing water damage to one of the rooms. BlueSky Restoration Contractors has been hired by the town to assess the damage and begin making repairs.
The leak led to a temporary closure of the library, and Farrenkopf had no timeline for reopening. “Hopefully, we’ll know more in the next couple of days,” he said.
No books appear to have been damaged, Farrenkopf said. “In the area that had all the water in it, all the bookshelves are on wheels,” he said. “We just scooted them out of the way.”
Aden Choate contributed reporting.