High tides and heavy winds created an ocean washover at Norton Point Beach late Friday. A spokesman for The Trustees of Reservations confirmed early Saturday that there had not been a breach in the narrow barrier beach that runs from Katama to Chappaquiddick.
“No breach, but the bay is super high,” Darci Schofield, Islands director for the Trustees, told the Gazette in a text message. The Trustees manage the roughly two-mile stretch of beach.
“We ask visitors to avoid the flooded trails and driving into the edge of the dunes where water is present on the OSV trails,” Ms. Schofield said.
She said beach rangers are monitoring the conditions and will post updates on social media.
Breaches at Norton Point have been a subject for extensive scientific study through the years. The last time the beach breached was in April 2007 in a severe storm. The opening migrated eastward for years and finally closed in 2015.
More recently, the Trustees and the town of Edgartown have been involved in a coastal resiliency project at Norton Point that includes rebuilding dunes.
“Stormy conditions like these remind of the importance of continuing our coastal resiliency work,” Ms. Schofield said.
