Irene Arrives at the Jersey Shore

The Jersey Shore started to feel the heavy impact of Hurricane Irene Saturday night as strong wind gusts and driving rains became more frequent, causing slick roads, poor visibility, and plenty of reasons to find shelter.

What began as on-and-off rain showers during the day Saturday turned more wicked by sunset. The wind howled on the boardwalk, downing palm trees placed on Jenkinsons Beach during calmer times. A few miles downshore in Seaside Heights, the front edge of Hurricane Irene's storm surge caused waves to inch closer and closer to the borough's famed boardwalk before finally breaking the barrier and breaching under the boards.

In Brick, heavy rains caused some minor flooding in the Shore Acres section, and tree branches hung low on Princeton Avenue. Electronic signs at the foot of the Mantoloking Bridge Barnegat Bay to Route 35. On Brick's portion of the barrier island, a sign outside Used to Be's bar advertised a hurricane party, but the establishment was closed, a victim of the mandatory evacuation order from Friday night.

Few stores were open. Even 24 hour standbys such as Wawa and 7-Eleven were closed and, oftentimes, boarded and taped up. Many homes were also dark, especially in Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head and neighborhoods close to the water. Many residents flocked to county-run shelters in Toms River and Manahawkin. So many, in fact, that the main shelter at Toms River North High School was . A second shelter opened at Toms River Intermediate School North. In Barnegat, residents from as far away as Atlantic City at that township's high school, which was also being used as a shelter.

The Manasquan River was beginning to slightly overflow its banks as high tide approached Saturday night. Residents in Point Pleasant Beach moved their cars to higher grounds on various residential streets. In Brick, a marina parking lot on Princeton Avenue served as a makeshift community lot.

But for some locals, the excitement of Hurricane Irene was too much to contain at home.

Brendan Hart and his son, Devin, came to the Maryland Avenue beach in Point Pleasant Beacht to catch a glimpse of the high surf. The Harts, from Point Pleasant Boro, said they made the trip to the beach because they thought the hurricane would be "exciting."

"I never thought about leaving," Brendan Hart said, as his already-matted hair got ever more soaked from the rain. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."