Palm Beach to close public beach access Wednesday as Tropical Storm Nicole nears landfall

Jodie Wagner, Palm Beach Daily News
·2 min read
Palm Beach will close public access to its beaches Wednesday ahead of Tropical Storm Nicole. Midtown Beach is pictured here.
Palm Beach will close public access to its beaches Wednesday ahead of Tropical Storm Nicole. Midtown Beach is pictured here.

With Tropical Storm Nicole continuing to track toward a landfall on Florida's east coast, the town said it will close public access to beaches and parks on Wednesday.

The storm, which is expected to make landfall between Boynton Beach and St. Augustine late Wednesday into Thursday as a Category 1 hurricane, had sustained 65 mph winds Tuesday and was moving west at 10 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center's 4 p.m. update. It was about 395 miles east of West Palm Beach.

Earlier Tuesday, with higher than normal tides and days of heaving waves, the town used cranes to lift its lifeguard stands off Midtown Beach.

More: County issues mandatory evacuation order that includes Palm Beach ahead of Tropical Storm Nicole

Chief lifeguard Craig Pollock said he hasn't had to remove the stands in years. Storm surge is forecast to reach up to 3 feet along central and south Palm Beach County's coastline.

"It's better to be safe than sorry," Pollock said. "We don't have a lot of real estate here in front of the main tower so we need to get them off the beach."

Town Manager Kirk Blouin announced Tuesday afternoon that beaches would be closed Wednesday, though he expected there would be some people who ignore that order.

"There will be people who are going to go in the water," he said. "They will be intent on getting into the water. The likelihood of us stopping them doing that is very small. There's no need to call the police department and inundate us with phone calls. Those people are putting themselves at risk. They're not putting the residents of this community at risk."

Meteorologists are calling for dangerous storm surge of up to 5 feet in northern Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, with 2 to 4 feet in central and southern Palm Beach County. Wind speeds are forecast to hit a sustained 75 mph with 90 mph gusts.

Palm Beach Post reporter Kimberly Miller contributed to this story.

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: Palm Beach to close public beaches Wednesday ahead of Nicole