Around 9 AM on January 10, 2024–the day of the first big storm to hit Gouldsboro this year–the tide gauge in Bar Harbor measured a water level that was just above 4 feet higher than the usual high tide of 11.37 feet. That extra water, called “storm surge,” was there because the storm had pushed an enormous amount of water about against the shoreline. Running on top of that extra four feet of water were the huge waves from the storm.
We don’t know exactly how much storm surge hit Gouldsboro, but it was probably similar to what the Bar Harbor gauge reported. What we do know for sure is that once it got to the top of Prospect Harbor, it had nowhere to go but across the land. Crashing up on the shore and then receding, the huge waves running on top of the surge loosened soil and vegetation and sucked it into the ocean. Then it came back for more.
Mike Summerer, whose house is next to Dorcas Library up toward the top of the harbor, wrote:
The storm water reached about 60′ onto our lawn and destroyed or relocated the rip rap we already had along our frontage. The apple tree that the library liked to look at was taken down, all of our Rugosa roses that had stabilized the bank behind the rip rap were undercut and washed away. In spots we lost 6-8 feet of lawn. Interestingly, along the lupin field side of our property, the rip rap was larger and was mostly “readjusted” although the water washed debris well into that side of the property. If we have a similar storm before things are repaired I feel the rest of our lawn, and the library’s, are at risk.
Here are some pictures that Mike sent:
