Flooded streets, rough surf and relentless wind upended weekend plans in Ocean City as a nor’easter moved through, leaving residents to clean up.
Flooded streets, rough surf and relentless wind upended weekend plans in Ocean City as a nor’easter moved through, leaving residents to clean up and visitors scrambling after a major music festival was called off.
Water filled streets as cars crawled through flooded roads, creating a much quieter weekend than thousands of visitors expected. One man took advantage of the high water to kayak through town.
“I said, I'm never get the opportunity to kayak down Saint Louis Street again. So, I loaded up my truck, and here I am,” he said.
For residents, the biggest problem was water flooding low-lying streets and making it difficult to get around.
Diane described just how soaked people got in the storm.
“We were soaking wet. I don't care what kind of boots you had or what kind of raincoat you had on you was soaking wet,” she said.
The storm also hit as tourists arrived for the Oceans Calling Music Festival. Instead of the expected lineup, visitors faced canceled plans and refunded tickets as the weather worsened.
“It was definitely crazy. And it's something I've never really witnessed before. Oh, the water actually rushing up towards the hotels and stuff like that. Something I've never seen before. The wind was definitely something I've never heard before either,” a teenage boy said.
A family visiting from Wisconsin said they could see how high the water was.
“Literally a block away, we could see the water really high. The waves were probably the most amazing to me. I've never seen it that all before,” the family said.
Diane said the weekend still turned into a kind of break, even with the festival canceled.
I lost money, yes, but it was a vacation, I guess, because they allowed us to stay in the hotel and just relax,” she said.
The Wisconsin family said it was prepared to wait out the weather, expecting the festival might still happen.
“I understood the weather, things like that. So, we were prepped for Saturday or Sunday thinking we're still going to do it. And then we saw the cancellation. We just kind of took a deep breath and said, 'well, we gotta make the most of it and find some stuff to do,'" they said.
Even with empty festival grounds and floodwaters covering parts of town, some visitors tried to make the most of the trip.
Another man kayaking in town said he hoped conditions would improve ahead of another event.
“Imagine they're very disappointed. But, hopefully by time that Country Calling is here next weekend, everything will be straightened up and ready to go,” he said.
The Wisconsin family said it still sought out festival merchandise as a way to stay upbeat about the trip.
“We wanted festival merch. A thank you for making the most of it. And just being, like, kind of lighthearted about it. It's like, did. Yeah, it was canceled, but we're here,” they said.
With the worst of the storm behind them, residents were left assessing what the nor’easter left behind and looking ahead to what happens when similar storms hit again — another reminder, residents said, of how quickly life along the coast can change.
