A late September nor’easter took aim at the Atlantic coast, carving away at millions of dollars worth of beach nourishment projects in New Jersey — yet this was still considered a win for the Jersey Shore.

Admittedly, if most of us heard our money had been all but washed away, we wouldn’t consider it a success.

But that was all part of the plan on the coast.

Before the September storm

Nor'easters are no stranger to the Atlantic coast. The intense winds, destructive waves and coastal flooding that come along with these storms have long left their imprint on places like the Jersey Shore.

(WATCH: Nor'easter rips into New Jersey like a hurricane)

The high surf erodes the beaches, leaving the infrastructure behind them — like gas lines, sewers and roads — vulnerable.

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So over the last two decades, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been tasked to build up the beaches with additional sand to help protect from storms just like this one.

Over $80 million in beach nourishment projects were recently completed in 2025 in places like Atlantic City, Sea Isle City and Ocean City.

At first glance after the September nor'easter, it seemed like their efforts were washed away.

But that was not unexpected — in fact, it was counted on.

The success story

The point of building up the beaches and dunes was to act as a sacrificial barrier between the ocean and what lies beyond.

"We are quite pleased with the performance of the projects. In all cases, the projects performed as they were designed," said Keith Watson, a project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

He noted that while this was a top five storm in terms of erosion potential, "It didn't rise to the level of Sandy or the '62 storm ... only a three- to five-year water level."

And while hotspots on Long Beach Island along the Jersey Shore did lose a staggering amount of sand, the protection of the coast's infrastructure far outweighs the cost.

"Those areas did suffer significant erosion, but the dunes held up. No damage was noted past there."

The fight against Mother Nature isn't over

Though this was one success story, the battle with the weather and the waves is relentless.

This is just one storm in one year. And it's hard to keep up.

"The sand goes away faster than we can put it there," Watson noted.

And the shoreline isn't the only area of concern.

A recent study conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers found the back bay areas along New Jersey's coastline are at risk of $1.5 billion annually, without protection.

So while the outcome from this storm was largely positive, there is still a lot of work to be done to protect both the shorelines and back bays — but they're not giving up.

New Jersey officials have already announced even bigger investments in beach restoration, with more money being projected to be spent in 2026 and 2027.

"We decided as a race to settle along the shoreline a long time ago ... a state like New Jersey is not giving up the people living on the shoreline," Watson concluded.

Caitlin Kaiser graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with both an undergraduate and graduate degree in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences before starting her career as a digital meteorologist with weather.com.