1/ We at the office have noticed an interesting phenomenon in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaias here on Long Island...
A lot of the south side of exposed vegetation is withering while the north side of the same vegetation seems fine.

2/ This picture is taken by one of our meteorologists on the south shore of Long Island today (August 15th, 2020), about 11 days after Tropical Storm Isaias swept through the area. The picture is taken looking to the north.

3/ You can very clearly see that much of the south side of the vegetation looks as if it has progressed into late autumn with much of it turning brown. However, the north side of the trees and the bushes are still green! How and why is this happening??

4/ We believe that the cause of this weird occurrence has to do with the blowing of ocean spray (and thus sea salt) onto the south side of exposed vegetation by strong winds. Tropical Storm Isaias had strong winds associated with it on Long Island, but not much rainfall.

5/ Strong southerly winds (with gusts up to and exceeding 70 mph) off of the ocean picked up sea salt off the ocean surface and battered the south sides of just about everything.

6/ With little to no rain to wash the salt off of trees and bushes in the wake of these strong winds, the south sides of the vegetation that experienced the brunt of the winds (and thus most exposure to the sea salt) seems to have begun to wither and wilt.

7/Additionally, much of Long Island is currently in a moderate drought with Islip, NY (KISP) a little more than 6" of precipitation below average for the calendar year so far. This may at least partially enhance these withering effects.

8/ There is anecdotal evidence of this phenomenon occurring from tropical events in the past, like Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and the "Long Island Express" Hurricane in 1938, though both of these prior events occurred later in the year than Tropical Storm Isaias.

9/ With all that being said, have you noticed this weird occurrence in your area? We at the office would be very interested to hear (and see) from you if you've noticed this happening near you!