'You can't let your guard down': Town of Palm Beach monitoring Hurricane Ian

Jodie Wagner, Palm Beach Daily News
·2 min read
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Palm Beach police officer Anthony DeJesse directs traffic Tuesday as Palm Beach Public School releases students before Hurricane Ian comes ashore in Florida.
Palm Beach police officer Anthony DeJesse directs traffic Tuesday as Palm Beach Public School releases students before Hurricane Ian comes ashore in Florida.

With Hurricane Ian churning toward a landfall on Florida's west coast, the town of Palm Beach will maintain a watchful eye on the dangerous storm — for now.

Though impacts are expected to be less severe in South Florida, town officials officials began storm preparations last week and will tweak them if conditions change, Town Manager Kirk Blouin said Tuesday.

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"Depending on what the storm looks like as it pertains to the town, this will dictate our actions," he said.

The Everglades Club designed by Addison Mizner, is protected Monday by hurricane shutters ahead of Hurricane Ian.
The Everglades Club designed by Addison Mizner, is protected Monday by hurricane shutters ahead of Hurricane Ian.

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Ahead of the storm, crews working with the town's Public Works Department topped off all of the fuel tanks for the town's generators, including those at storm stations, sanitary stations and buildings, Public Works Director Paul Brazil said.

Crews also will monitor for standing water at inlets and clear them as necessary, and remove any trees that may fall and block a roadway.

For now, all storm and sanitary stations are operational and monitored remotely, Brazil said.

All construction projects will continue as weather allows, and garbage and yard trash services will continue on the town's regular schedule.

Blouin said he expects the storm, which was at Category 3 strength at 2 p.m. Tuesday and was located 85 miles south-southwest of the Dry Tortugas, according to the National Hurricane Center, should mostly be a rain event for the island, though town officials will remain vigilant.

"We're just monitoring," he said. "I think we'll take a breather on this one, hopefully. History tells us that these storms are unpredictable. You can't let your guard down. We'll still go through the protocols without getting too ahead of ourselves."

A tropical storm watch has been issued for coastal Palm Beach, inland Broward, inland Miami-Dade, inland Palm Beach, and metro Palm Beach due to the effects of the storm.

The National Weather Service also has placed all of South Florida, including the Town of Palm Beach, under a Tornado Watch until 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Palm Beach Day and Palm Beach Public will close Wednesday

Palm Beach Day Academy will close its campus Wednesday as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida. A decision has not been made about the remainder of the week, the school said Tuesday.

Palm Beach Public Elementary School also will be closed on Wednesday following a School District of Palm Beach County announcement.

Two years ago, Hurricane Isaias tracked to within 40 miles of Palm Beach County's coastline before turning north and eventually coming ashore near Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

The storm caused only minimal erosion to town beaches, Coastal Coordinator Rob Weber told the Daily News, while some sea turtle nests were washed out on the beach.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Town of Palm Beach monitoring Hurricane Ian as storm nears Florida's coast