Impact of Hurricane Belle on Assateague Island washover

The occurrence of Hurricane Belle on August 9, 1976 supplied additional data on the role of overwash on Assateague Island. Approximately 19m³ of sand per metre of washover centerline (oriented normal to shoreline) was deposited at the survey site as a result of the storm. The major source of sand appears to be the beach and near-shore regions as opposed to the foredunes adjacent to the washover throat, because there is a lack of measured dune erosion. Unlike most winter storms, there was no concurrent offshore wind to deflate this deposit as the storm subsided. However, strong offshore winds in January 1977 eroded some 16 m³/m from this centerline and redeposited this sand on the beach.

This study suggests that overwash of the magnitude experienced during storms of less than major proportions may not be processes for significant long-term sand accumulation to this barrier island.