ratpack, I can't speak for your particular storm, or your particular coast, but .... in general, drawing from knowledge of CA beach storms (if the general principles can be applied elsewhere) : It could just be that the 1 or 2 or 3 beaches you tried, weren't the producing ones.
I've learned after nearly 35 yrs. of looking for erosion, that when the storm factors seem to line up, the following can result: Some stretches of beaches can remain un-affected. While another beach, a mere 1/4 mile downstream, can be going off big-time! And oddly, each can seem to have the same exact ingredients affecting them: Same angle-facing the oceans, same wave/swell heights, etc... So I have learned to quickly scout multiple beaches.
Example: We had some storms here a year ago, that were impressive. Several of us took off on the day of the swells, furiously scouting beaches. Several were lame. Several were so-so, but one was totally awesome! For about 5 days we harvested coins as fast as could. While other beaches, a mere mile away, were only so-so or poor.