Spectacle of the sea: High tide amazes onlookers

Road closures and dangerous wind chill temperatures did little to deter onlookers who came out for the spectacular sight Friday that was high tide.”I’m from Wisconsin, you just don’t get beauty like this in Wisconsin,” said Lynn transplant Debbie Moy.Parts of Humphrey Street in Swampscott, Lynn Shore Drive, Lynn and Revere Beach Boulevard, Revere and the Nahant Causeway were shut down between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. when wave after wave spilled over the ocean’s edge and onto streets and boardwalks at the height of high tide.Moy stood on Lynn Shore Drive at Kings Beach Road watching as waves shot high into the air before crashing over the railing and flooding the walkway along Kings Beach. She said she’d been waiting all night to come out to see Mother Nature’s noontime show.Pamela Wilson stood in the snow snapping photo after photo of the billowing waves. She called the ocean angry but she was smiling broadly as she gingerly moved toward the railing before darting back again as the waves rose over her head.”I want to get a picture of the icicles, but I don’t think I can,” she said, pointing out a thick band of ice hanging in pointed shards from the railing atop the sea wall.Wilson said she lived in New England then Hawaii and is now back in New England, where the waves are quite different “and a lot colder.” But like Moy, Wilson said she never misses the water show that results from a good storm.David Gonzalez tempted fate climbing on the rail along the seawall so his buddy Pepe Rivera could snap a picture before another round of waves crashed over.”We’re just having a little fun, but now it’s time for coffee,” said Gonzalez.”You gotta do it,” Rivera added. “It’s just awesome. I love this.”Lori Staffiery also wandered down to watch the ocean rage but she declined to cross the street, despite pleas from her young companion Ryan Aguilar. Staffiery said she was a little afraid they’d get a cold shower if they got too close.”I’ve lived here all my life,” she said. “We always come down to watch the waves but this might be the worst I’ve seen it.”Aguilar, a student at Brickett, said he was happy just to have two additional vacation days.”I like it,” he said munching on a handful of clean snow.Area public works directors closed several waterfront roads beginning at 11 a.m. Friday as high tide reports and calls about ocean water overtopping coast side walls came in.Swampscott Public Works Director Gino Cresta ordered part of Atlantic Avenue to the Marblehead line and Puritan Road closed to traffic at 11 a.m. and subsequently shut down Humphrey Street from Monument Avenue to the Lynn line.Revere police blocked traffic access at noon on Revere Beach Boulevard at Revere Street to Point of Pines as surging surf crested onto the roadway. Lynn police blocked Western Avenue at 12:30 p.m. at the River Works entrance denying access to the Belden Bly Bridge after receiving reports of water from the Saugus River flowing into the roadway and freezing.Road flooding was also reported on River and Cooper streets, River Street Court and New Ocean Street near Lynn Shore Drive. Water pooling in the intersection of Sagamore and Washington streets also created difficult driving conditions.Lynn Police Lt. Richard Donnelly said the department received a number of calls regarding flooding situations but once high tide passed everything began to calm down.Moy, who took video along with dozens of photos, said she was glad, despite the cold, that she came down to the water to watch the waves.”It’s just gorgeous,” she said. “And it’s a Chinese food day. I’m going to grab some and head home.”