Winter Storms and Beaches
Winter storm season results in changes along Puget Sound beaches. While every beach is different, in the winter many beaches are covered in gravel or larger sized rocks called “cobbles.” It usually takes the force of a winter storm to move rocks around and most importantly, to wash lighter-weight sand offshore, leaving a smaller, rockier beach. These effects are most pronounced on the southwestern coast of Washington where beaches may recede more than 300 feet in one winter. But even more-protected Puget Sound beaches change during the season. Storm waves can scour and undercut bluffs, exposing new geologic layers, rocks and even fossils that have been buried for thousands of years. In the summer, gentler waves conveniently bring the sand back onshore just in time for people to enjoy sunny days at the beach.
Viewer Tip: Don’t let winter winds and drizzle keep you indoors. Bundle up and take some regular walks on your nearest beach. Take a walking stick if cobbles make footing less certain. Over the course of the winter, watch the “storm sculptor” at work and get to know your beach and bluffs in a new way.
Season: Winter
This information is provided by Port Townsend Marine Science Center. Learn more at www.ptmsc.org.
(Sources: Washington Department of Ecology, Washington’s Coast: Storms www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/coast/storms/change.html and Puget Sound Beaches http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/pugetsound/beaches/gravel.html; University of California San Diego, Earthguide, http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/earthguide/diagrams/coasts/beachprofile.html; John Turbeville, Oceanography, Mira Costa College, California http://www.miracosta.edu/home/JTurbeville/profiling/Beach%20Processes.htm.)
