Hurricane Ernesto traveled over 700 miles east of the Eastern Seaboard but its waves still caused damage to roads, which had to be closed on Sunday.

As we have explained, even storms that don't directly hit the United States can cause indirect impacts on the nation. This was the case with Ernesto which stayed far away, but caused large waves to crash along many parts of the East Coast, causing flooding and damaging roads. On Route 1, in Delaware near the Indian River Inland Bridge, both directions had to be closed on Sunday as water flooded the streets after eroding the coast.

The Delaware Department of Transportation had worked last week in preparing for the storm's impact by protecting the dunes with extra rocks. The storm turned out to be more powerful than expected. Several spots along the eastern Seaboard go through sand replenishment projects each year, costing millions of dollars. Keep in mind not only hurricanes cause damage, but also winter storms such as Nor'easter and the famous King Tides.

The flooding was exacerbated by a growing moon, which brought slightly higher than normal tides. The moon was 99% illuminated and will be full today. A full moon can increase normal high tides between 10 to 20%. Roads along Route 1 opened about 12 hours later, but work crews could still be there assessing damage and working on the dunes.