Posted on August 20, 2025
The $20 million Nassau County Shore Protection Project was finished in July
NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – The Jacksonville area will not get a direct impact from Hurricane Erin, however, the National Weather Service is warning of frequent, deadly rip currents, along with rough and high surf at local beaches through Thursday, with beach erosion and minor tidal flooding risk increasing Wednesday and Thursday around high tides.
Hurricane Erin is hundreds of miles away, but you could already see the impact from the wind at beaches on Tuesday, creating much stronger waves.
As stronger ocean waves roll in, Terry Sayre is looking for hidden treasure.
“I was out here to check out, see how much erosion, all this is renourished sand, so the only thing you really find is stuff people dropped recently,” Sayre said.
Sayre is already seeing a difference at Fernandina Beach
“You can see already there a little bit of cut up where the waves have gotten a little rougher,” said Sayre.
Jeremiah Glisson, the deputy city manager for Fernandina Beach, confirmed the Army Corps of Engineers just completed returning sand to the beach in July from Hurricane Nicole erosion in 2022. The $20 million Nassau County Shore Protection Project to renourish the Fernandina Beach shoreline from Fort Clinch to Saddler Road was completed months ahead of schedule in July.
But now the coastline will be hit with strong winds and waves from Hurricane Erin hundreds of miles away.
So far, the erosion has been minimal.
Glisson said there is an “escarpment line” but that is typical after a dredging project.
The Army Corps of Engineers will return after the storm passes to knock the escarpment line down.
Nassau County is just one of multiple counties along the coast that get sand renourishment every year.
According to the 2024 Florida Department of Environmental Protection report, Nassau had 7.7 miles of critical beach erosion, Duval County had 10.4 miles, St. Johns County had 17.1 miles and Flagler County had 8.1 miles.
These areas have been restored or are near full restoration since the last hurricane season. For places like Nassau County their dune system and shoreline is growing stronger despite Mother Nature.
And for Terry, the more beach erosion, the more likely he could find hidden treasure.
It is too soon to say how much of an indirect impact hurricane Erin will have on the beaches, but we are starting to see a little bit of erosion, but we won’t know the real impact until hurricane Erin passes.
To learn more about coastal erosion in your area, click here.
