Hamburg, N.Y. (WBEN) -The residents of Hoover Beach in the Town of Hamburg have seen this movie before. When powerful winds from the south and southwest push a wall of water down Lake Erie, its destination is ultimately Hoover Beach.
Town emergency officials wasted no time in advance of the forecast seiche that will see the water rise as high as 11 feet and ordered a mandatory evacuation of the 90 or so residents who call Hoover Beach home.
"We did the mandatory evacuation with the understanding that if conditions are bad enough, we are not coming in to get them," Hamburg Emergency Manager Sean Crotty told WBEN Friday morning. "Everyone has heeded the evacuation order," he added.
Crotty expects waves as high as 20 feet and with a seiche raising the water level by as much as 11 feet, damage to waterfront property in the area is imminent.
With Lake Erie not yet frozen over, there will be heavy water spray coating any structures and roads that border the shoreline, says Crotty, and a coating of ice will form on anything it sticks to. It can be picturesque, but problematic. "While it protects them, it also adds the burden of weight on them."
While there are storms every season that cause challenges for Hoover Beach residents, Crotty says a devastating storm in 1985 is the standard by which all storms are judged. A series of empty lots remain in the area where homes were completely destroyed in the '85 storm.
Meteorologist Andy Parker tells WBEN the concern for the lakeshore area is indeed warranted, saying he expects potentially record high levels on Lake Erie. "This looks like it could be a historic level on Lake Erie," he said.
In addition to Hoover Beach, Parker expects potential flooding concerns in the Canalside area of Buffalo and upstream along the Buffalo River in Buffalo's Old First Ward.
