The Gazette of Really Small News

What looks like a hilly island--in this case, off Ocean Grove--is really a bank of clouds in the moments before sunrise.

Clouds appear to race across the sky above Wesley Lake leaving the kind of "whooshy" trails seen in comic books. This image was captured Friday, Sept. 29.

The sun peeping from behind the clouds at dawn today might be misleading. The sunny start will give way to clouds and then a 50-percent chance of showers, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Expect a high around 65 and low tonight around 50. Meanwhile, after days of monster waves and deadly rip currents, the surf returns to normal as Hurricane Maria turns farther out to sea and dies down. The NWS predicts a moderate risk of rip currents.

This red flag is one of many that dotted the Asbury Park beach at sunrise on Wednesday, Sept. 28. The flags signaled that swimming was prohibited for yet another day while Hurricane Maria, nearly 200 hundred miles off the coast of North Carolina, continued to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the Jersey Shore.

Hurricane Maria continues to stir up rough surf and rip currents along the Jersey Shore despite weakening and being downgraded to a tropical storm. The National Weather Service (NWS) says the risk of potentially deadly rip currents will remain high until tomorrow evening. Wave height will range from 5 feet to 7 feet. The threat for dangerous rip currents will likely remain high for much of the week, the NWS said in an early-morning rip current statement.

The red flag at the entrance to a beach in Bradley Beach denotes no swimming. Beaches are unguarded, and the National Weather Service issued alerts for rough surf and potentially lethal rip currents into tomorrow.  Conditions are caused by Hurricane Maria, which was around 180 miles east of North Carolina's Outer Banks at noon on Tuesday. The surf is visible in the left of the picture.

Rip currents and high surf from Hurricane Maria continue to make coastal waters treacherous for swimmers. The National Weather Service (NHS) has issued a high rip current risk through today and into Wednesday, when Maria, now off the North Carolina Banks, finally turns out to sea. "The threat for dangerous rip currents will likely be high for much of the upcoming week," the NHS said in its Rip Current Statement. Wave height is 3 feet to 5 feet. Beaches are open but unguarded. Officials along the Jersey Shore warn bathers not to go in in the water, not even to walk in it. Police in Avon-by-the-Sea declared an emergency and banned bathing.

Manasquan's fire department will hold a mutual aid drill starting at 7 this evening. Streets will be blocked off, and the fire department will use theatrical smoke in the Osprey to simulate a structural fire, officials said in a statement on the borough's website. Fire hydrants on First and Second avenues and on East Main Street might be used. Officials recommend running the faucet until the water is clear if discoloration occurs.

Police in Avon-by-the-Sea banned swimming today until further notice. Notices attached to traffic cones, like this one in the picture posted on social media by the borough's police department, appeared after a weekend in which more than three dozen people were plucked from rough surf between Avon and Manasquan. Belmar mayor Matt Doherty tweeted on Sunday, Sept. 24, that 35 people had been rescued from the ocean off Belmar alone. The potentially lethal conditions were caused by Hurricane Maria, which is expected to brush the Outer Banks of North Carolina tomorrow before turning east and heading out to sea.

A high risk of the rip currents and treacherous surf that kept local emergency teams busy all weekend will continue into tonight and for the next few days, the National Weather Service (NWS) said this morning. The conditions are effects of Hurricane Maria, which is expected to brush North Carolina's Outer Banks before turning out to sea, according to the NWS. Surf is expected to run from 4 feet to 7 feet high. Nearly three dozen people were rescued from the surf over the weekend, despite warnings from police and emergency entities like  the Area Network of Shore Emergency Responders (ANSWER) to stay out of the water. ANSWERTeamNJ  and Manasquan officials reported "multiple" water rescues in southern Monmouth County. Belmar mayor Matt Doherty tweeted on Sunday that the total was 35.

There's a high risk of potentially lethal rip currents through this evening, the National Weather Service (NWS) says. With beaches unguarded now that the summer beach season has ended, beachgoers were advised not to go into the water as Hurricane Maria continues to agitate the surf. The category 2 storm was northeast of the Bahamas and moving north northwest at 9 miles per hour (mph) with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. Despite warnings from authorities, some people did go into the surf. "Today Belmar P[olice]D[department] told children not to go into the water because its dangerous only to have some parents override & tell their kids to go in," Belmar mayor Matt Doherty tweeted. Doherty would later tweet: "Total of 35 saves in Belmar this weekend." Manasquan Fire Rescue tweeted there were "multiple" rescues at beaches from Avon to Manasquan. There were also reports that a swimmer in distress at Belmar's 17th Avenue beach was s...

The Jersey Shore and coastal communities from the Carolinas to the Mid-Atlantic should keep an eye on Hurricane Maria, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Saturday. Maria devastated Puerto Rico and the island of Dominica as a category 5 hurricane before weakening to category 2 with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and gusts up to 125 mph. The storm is currently east of the Bahamas and tracking north-northwest at 7 knots an hour. At the moment, however, there is only a 5-percent chance of tropical-storm-force winds from Maria reaching the area by the morning of Thursday Sept. 28, the NHC said. "Interests in the Bahamas and along the Carolina and Mid-Atlantic coasts should monitor  the progress of Maria," the agency said in an update on Saturday afternoon.

Today should be sunny, with a high around 82, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Be careful if you go to the beach. Many beaches, like those in Ocean Grove, are unguarded now, and the NWS says there's a moderate risk of life-threatening rip currents. A swimmer in Asbury Park died earlier this week after being pulled from surf that was still rough from Hurricane Jose, which passed offshore. Pictured: the crack of dawn in Ocean Grove.

Hurricane Jose is gone, but berms like the one in the left half of the image were still on the Ocean Grove beach when the picture was taken at sunrise on Friday, Sept. 22. The berms were built to keep Jose's storm surge from reaching the dunes and boardwalk.

An earthmover used for building berms along the Ocean Grove beachfront to protect the dunes and boardwalk from Hurricane Jose's storm surge earlier in the week still sat at the entrance to the surfing beach on Friday, Sept. 22. As of Friday, it was unknown if Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico and Dominica, would head north and affect the East Coast.

Early sunrise, Ocean Grove. The sky over the north end of the Ocean Grove boardwalk.

A bumblebee clings to goldenrod swaying in the breeze on the next-to-last day of summer. Autumn begins Friday, Sept. 22.

Nothing says "hurricane season" like goldenrod against the backdrop of a roiling sea. Hurricane Jose weakened into a tropical storm but is expected to continue causing treacherous surf for several days. This is a view of the surf off Bradley Beach shortly after sunrise Wednesday, Sept. 20.

Berms like this one north of Ocean Grove's Boardwalk Pavilion protected the borough's dunes and boardwalk from storm surge caused by Hurricane Jose. The dark stains in the sand indicate the surge reached the berms and might have reached the dunes had the berms not been there. Jose remained offshore, brushing the coast with rough surf and occasional rain as it weakened into a tropical storm.

Hurricane Jose will continue to produce dangerous surf and rip currents through the week, according to the National Weather Service. This was surf off Ocean Grove on the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 19, as the storm passed the Jersey coast.

A coastal flood warning is in effect until 1 a.m. Wednesday as Hurricane Jose moves north about 150 miles offshore,. The outer bands from the category 1 hurricane brushed the Jersey Shore around 6 a.m. with light rain and a north wind of 12 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Showers are more likely after 11 a.m., along with a north wind of between 20 and 30 miles per hour. Showers and winds of up to 29 miles per hour are predicted for tonight. Jose has been producing treacherous surf and rip currents along the coast and will continue doing so for several more days, the NWS said.

Waves from still-distant Hurricane Jose were breaking earlier and on top of other breakers early in the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 18. The action was captured off Ocean Grove. Forecasters say Jose will bring tropical storm conditions to the Jersey Shore on Tuesday, Sept. 19, as it passes the area 150 miles out to sea.

The Manasquan Planning Board cancelled the special meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Sept 19. The meeting will instead take place on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at 4 p.m., officials said in a notice on the borough's website.

The Jersey Shore is under a tropical storm watch until further notice as Hurricane Jose moves north along the Eastern seaboard. The National Weather Service (NWS) said that, while Jose's center is "well offshore," the storm could produce heavy rainfall as it passes the coast on Tuesday and Wednesday. Jose is already producing what the NWS calls life-threatening surf and rip currents. The video was filmed early in the afternoon on Sunday, Sept. 17, shortly before the tropical storm watch went into effect.

  Hurricane Jose will bring life-threatening surf and rip currents to the New Jersey coast for "the next few days" as it passes offshore, the National Weather Service said in a statement issued Sunday. Wave height could reach 15 feet. A small craft advisory for hazardous seas is in effect.

. . . which was pretty much the mood of the sunless, colorless dawn on Sunday, Sept. 17, when this picture was taken.

This gull on the beach in Ocean Grove comes eye to eye with a serpent sculpted in the sand.

The National Weather Service has issued a warning for a high risk of rip currents until 11 tonight. Beaches in most towns have been unguarded since Sept. 4, when the beach season ended. But the lack of guards  has not stopped people from going into the water, despite bungalow-high swells from Hurricane Jose, hundreds of miles out in the Atlantic. The surf is expected to remain rough until the storm passes the Jersey seaboard on Tuesday. Pictured: High surf off Ocean Grove early on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 17.

This image of the surf off Bradley Beach was captured on Saturday afternoon. Hurricane Jose was still hundreds of miles southeast of the Jersey Shore, but the National Weather Service said the area should expect tropical storm conditions on Tuesday as Jose moves north.

A boy builds  a sandcastle while adults watch waves the height of a bungalow slam into the sand at Bradley Beach on Saturday afternoon. The rough seas are caused by Hurricane Jose, which is hundreds of miles south and east of the Jersey Shore but could bring tropical storm conditions to the area on Tuesday.

Neptune Office of Emergency Management (OEM) urged preparedness while keeping an eye on Jose, now a category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour. The storm is expected to pass New Jersey 200 miles offshore, causing rough surf and street flooding. Some forecasts include nor'easter-like conditions. Although the Jersey Shore is in what the National Hurricane Center calls the "cone of uncertainty"--a diagram, shaped like a cone, that shows the probable track of a storm--no forecast has shown the storm coming near the Shore or making landfall in New Jersey. "Keep in mind that this forecast is just that, a forecast" and subject to change, Neptune OEM said in a statement on its Facebook page. Residents should "prepare for anything" by going online to Ready.Gov and by attending the township's "Prepareathon" on Wednesday, Sept. 20. The event, hosted by Neptune OEM, is part of a nationwide, community-based campaign t...

These gleaming MGs with their bonnets proudly popped are part of the British Car Show taking place this afternoon in Ocean Grove. In addition to the MGs, the event, sponsored by the Ocean Grove Chamber of Commerce, features classic Triumphs, Jaguars, and Mini Coopers, as well as British rock music of the 1960s.

Today should be partly sunny, with a high around 77 and a chance of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon, says the National Weather Service. Tonight will have patchy fog and a low around 66. Pictured: Wesley Lake at sunrise today, seen from the Asbury Park side.

A gull finds itself in the wet surface of a Bradley Beach jetty.

Remnants of a wave pour around a Bradley Beach jetty like a melting image in a painting by 20th-century Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali.

Today will be partly sunny, with a chance of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and a high around 79, says the National Weather Service. Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low around 64. Pictured: The Ocean Grove fishing pier at daybreak.

Tropical Storm Jose, now in the south Atlantic away from land and moving west northwest, is expected to strengthen into a hurricane and bring nor'easter-like conditions to the region early next week, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The storm is already creating rough surf, as seen in this raw footage of surf off Ocean Grove.

Clouds over Asbury Park signal the approach Thursday afternoon of fragments of former Hurricane Irma. The massive hurricane slammed into the Florida Keys on Sept. 10, causing property damage that reports place between $40 billion and $170 billion. The storm reportedly killed a total of 31 people across Florida,  Georgia, and South Carolina, with 24 of those deaths occurring in Florida.

With maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour, Hurricane Jose, still in the Atlantic with no immediate threat to land, was downgraded to a tropical storm. Despite weakening, Jose is still stirring up the ocean, as seen by this video of rough surf off Ocean Grove this afternoon.

Dried hydrangeas and the yellow-green leaves of an oak hydrangea cling to summer as goldenrod, which blooms in late summer and early fall, begins to take over a garden.

Following a warm, hazy start, we should expect scattered thunderstorms and showers with a high of 78, according to the National Weather Service. The chance of showers continues into tonight, when the low will be around 68. Pictured: Off the coast of Ocean Grove's north beach.

You've heard of holes in a plot line? These holes ARE the plot line. The terrible tunnels explain why this tree was removed this morning from where it stood at the corner of Main and New Jersey avenues in Ocean Grove.

This morning's partly sunny skies will give way to clouds and scattered showers this afternoon, with a high around 75, according to the National Weather Service. Tonight will be cloudy, with patchy fog and a low around 68. Pictured: Wesley Lake around 8 this morning.

The National Weather Service says to expect mostly sunshine and a high around 76. Tonight should be partly cloudy with a low of 63. Pictured: Wesley Lake at dawn today.

A house painter was hospitalized Monday afternoon after falling about 22 feet from a ladder onto the second-floor balcony of the house he was painting in Ocean Grove, authorities said. The unidentified painter was working at a house on Central Avenue. At the time of the incident, the house was locked and the homeowner was not on the premises. Neptune emergency management officials said the Neptune Special Operations Team was requested for a high-angle rescue, but the homeowner was contacted, the door was unlocked, and the painter was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center with undisclosed injuries and in an undisclosed condition.

School districts and municipal governments have until Oct. 31 to apply for environmental grants in the Sustainable Jersey Small Grants Program. Two grants of $30,000 and nine grants of $10,000 will be awarded for energy projects that focus on conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy. Project categories include innovative energy projects; energy resiliency, including microgrids or energy storage; renewable energy installations; electric vehicle policies; energy education; energy studies and engineering. Eligible expenses are salaries, contractor and consultant costs, equipment, materials, and supplies. Facilities and administrative costs are not eligible. Municipal governments may apply only if they are in New Jersey and are registered with or certified by Sustainable Jersey, and if they also have a Green Team. Applicants are urged to take part in an information webinar scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 19. The hour-long webinar will start at 3 p.m. and include information ab...

Around the nation, flags like this one in Ocean Grove's Founders' Park are flying at half-staff in memory of the nearly 3,000 people who died on Sept. 11, 2001, when Middle Eastern terrorists flew hijacked airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon, in Arlington County, Virginia, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Locally, the Manasquan fire department will hold a ceremony at 6 p.m. in Manasquan Plaza to honor the 343 firefighters who died when the Twin Towers collapsed.

This part of the Ocean Grove fishing pier looks like an old ruin -- which it is. The pier, which featured a white clapboard shed, extended over the water until the it was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012.

Today should be sunny, with a high around 71, while tonight will be mostly clear with a low around 62, says the National Weather Service. Pictured: Ocean Grove waters before sunrise.

Gulls on the Ocean Grove beach before sunrise align with the clouds like a design in a piece of 1960s pop culture.

This scene of early morning sunlight licking the dune fence behind the snack shack on the Ocean Grove beach might evoke warmth, but today's not going to be a jump-in-the-water kind of beach day. The high will be only around 70, says the National Weather Service. Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low around 59.

This raw footage shows rough surf at 11 a.m. today. A high rip current risk warning is in effect through this evening. Surf is running 4 ft. to 5 ft., with swells southeast 2 ft. to 4 ft., according to the National Weather Service's surf forecast. The summer bathing season is over, and beaches are unguarded. Signs posted along the beachfront advise swimmers they enter the water at their own risk.

Brilliant sunshine and crisp, early autumn air make for an ideal flea-market day, and the crowds are turning out for the Giant Fall Flea Market in Ocean Grove. More than 340 vendors are taking part in the annual event, which runs along Ocean Pathway until 4 p.m. and is sponsored by the Ocean Grove Chamber of Commerce.

Emergency management entities, including the US Coast Guard and Perth Amboy Police Department, will be training off the coast of Avon until around noon today, according to the Neptune Office of Emergency Management (OEM). "No emergency or cause for alarm," the Neptune OEM tweeted moments ago.

The day kicks off at 8 a.m. with the Historical Society of Ocean Grove's yard sale Yard Sale at the Society's Centennial Cottage, 43 McClintock Ave. The sale ends at 4 p.m. At 9 a.m., the Ocean Grove Chamber of Comerce's Giant Fall Flea Market opens. The event, which is set along Ocean Pathway, runs until 4 p.m.m At 3 p.m., the Spring Lake Theatre Company pays tribute to Alan Foster, the beloved, longtime director who died in August.  A C elebration of Alan Foster  will take place at the Spring Lake Community House Theatre, 300 Madison Ave. RSVP on the theatre's Facebook page. At 8 p.m., the borough of Belmar hosts Jaws on the beachfront at 8th Avenue. The movie will begin at dusk, according to the notice on the borough's website.

Today should be sunny, with a high around 71, and with a low around 57 and mostly clear skies tonight, according to the National Weather Service. Pictured: Wesley Lake at dawn, with a view of Asbury Park's landmark steam plant (center), and the north side of Ocean Grove (right).

This view of the Asbury Park boardwalk from within the city's landmark Casino Arcade is like a scene in a stained glass window.

Bradley Beach's trash and recycling lot on Main Street will open on Sunday, Sept. 17, and be open Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday through April 15, 2018. The lot will be closed during inclement and frigid weather, officials said. The lot will accept trash, recycling, brush and bulk items. Stickers are required for bulk items. For more information, contact the borough at 732-776-2999, ext. 3101.

Asbury Park's public works department will collect leaves from Oct. 15 to Dec, 31, the city said on its website, cityofasburyparkcom. Leaves must be bagged or placed in loose piles at the curb. Piles and bags must be at least 10 feet away from a storm inlet. Piles and bags must not contain branches, dirt, brush, or grass clippings. Leaves will not be collected if workers see branches dirt, brush, or grass clippings in the bags or piles. For more information, call the public works department at 732-775-0900.

Manasquan will pick up bulk items Sept. 11 through Sept. 15. Collections will be on your street's first weekday garbage collection only. A maximum of five bulk items will be collected. This includes a limit of two 32-gallon containers of what borough officials call "home-generated building material" such as wood and sheetrock no bigger than four feet in length. Nails must be removed. Recyclables, hazardous waste, white goods, and concrete will not be collected. "These dates and conditions will be strictly enforced by code enforcement,"the borough says in a statement on its website. Summonses will be issued for violations. For more information, go to the borough's website, www.manasquan-nj.com.

Leaves in Manasquan will be picked up from Oct. 16 through Dec. 15, borough officials said in a statement on the borough website. According to the statement, leaves must be raked and left loose in the street. Branches, twigs, and grass are not to be mixed with the leaves. Branches may be tied in bundles no bigger than 3 ft. by 1 ft., and must be placed on the curb, not in the street gutter, on the first garbage day of the week. Residents are asked to park off the street, and to remove all sports equipment like basketball backboards and skateboard ramps from the street to give public works crews access to the leaves. Leaves may also be brought to the recycling yard on Iroquois Road and dumped in the bin marked "leaves only."

The National Weather Service (NWS) says to expect a high around 74 and mostly sunny skies all day. Tonight should be partly cloudy, with a low around 57. Pictured: before sunrise at the beachfront end of the Ocean Grove side of Wesley Lake. The Asbury Park steam plant is on the left; Ocean Grove's North End pavilion is on the right.

Belmar has an opening for a full-time laborer in the borough public works department. Duties will include performing manual and unskilled labor under supervision. Applicants must have a valid driver's license, with Class A CDL preferred. Deadline is Sept. 22. Applicants may submit an application or resume to the Belmar Municipal Building, 601 Main Street, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or by email, a.claudio@boro.belmar.nj.us.

Spring Lake Recreation will sponsor a basketball clinic for children in Kindergarten through fourth grade Wednesday nights, Sept. 20 through Oct. 5, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Mountz School gymnasium. Fee is $70 for Spring Lake residents, $80 for non-residents. The clinic is for inexperienced players only. Registration is online, at https://register.communitypass.net/springlake. For more information, email recreation@springlakeboro,org.

Now that we're in the peak of hurricane season, which doesn't end until Nov. 1, do you know your zone? Your evacuation zone, that is. The Monmouth County Sheriff's Department has introduced a "Know Your Zone" campaign to encourage county residents and visitors to be aware of evacuation zones and the zones' vulnerability to flooding. There are four evacuation zones, A, B, C, and D, which are color-coded according to the degree of vulnerability: A is red; B is orange; C is yellow, and D is blue. According to the map at the Sheriff's Office website, http://www.mcsonj.org/knowyourzone/, red zones are most likely along the coast or close to lakes and rivers, with blue zones farther away from bodies of water but still likely to experience flooding. The Sheriff's Office said the "Know Your Zone" campaign reflects the National Hurricane Center's (NHC) decision to separate storm surge from the category of the storm, which is based on wind velo...

The Manasquan fire department will conduct a drill on Elizabeth Avenue this evening. Commuters might want to plan an alternate route, although some might be more likely to pull over and take videos.

In Ocean Grove, lifeguard stands in a lot at the north end and beach patrol boats lined up on the beach signal the end of another summer.