Roadways in Stuart, Palm City, Port Salerno mostly clear Wednesday amid wind, showers

Melissa E. Holsman, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·2 min read

MARTIN COUNTY — As showers fell on and off Wednesday in Palm City, Stuart and Port Salerno, most streets appeared passable and areas prone to flooding remained clear through the afternoon.

In Palm City near the St. Lucie River, Mapp Road, Southwest Cornell Avenue and All American Boulevard showed some pockets of pooled water but traffic, while light, moved along unimpeded from the effects of Hurricane Ian.

Though, not all of Palm City escaped flooding.  There were reports of high water on Sea Captain Drive. Water spilled over onto sidewalks and lawns.

Hurricane Ian made landfall on the Southwest Florida coast at 3:10 p.m Wednesday at near Category 5 strength, after the eyewall moved onshore at Sanibel and Captiva islands around noon.

Kirk Harness, 73, left, and his wife Jayne Harness, 61, watch from the front of their Palm City home on Southwest 28th Street on Sept. 28, 2022, as wind and rain from Hurricane Ian moved through the area.
Kirk Harness, 73, left, and his wife Jayne Harness, 61, watch from the front of their Palm City home on Southwest 28th Street on Sept. 28, 2022, as wind and rain from Hurricane Ian moved through the area.

For Palm City residents Kirk Harness, 73, and his wife Jayne Harness, 61, the gusts of winds and occasional showers passing over their home on Southwest 28th Street didn’t stop their daily routine of lounging in their front yard dubbed the “Zen Zone.”

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The couple, seated amid a stack of chairs near a fire pit, a glass-top table with a driftwood base, potted plants and large plastic tubs, said they’re watching the blustery weather but were not fretting it.

“We're always watching because it can switch so fast. Even like this one, it went more east,” Kirk Harness said. “If it’s a (category) 5 I’m gone, probably. But if it’s a 3 or 3 ½, I’m not going anywhere.”

Both were in Martin County in 2004 for the twin storms France, a category 2 storm on Sept. 5 and Jeanne, a category 3 hurricane on Sept. 26 that made landfall in nearly the same spot.

“The new (computer) spaghetti models are a lot better than they used to be way back in the day,” Kirk Harness said. “We were in the middle of Frances and Jeanne, in the eye.”

Kirk and Jayne Harness kept an eye on the weather from Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28, 2022 from the front yard of their Palm City home on Southwest 28th Street and Southwest Cornell Avenue.
Kirk and Jayne Harness kept an eye on the weather from Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28, 2022 from the front yard of their Palm City home on Southwest 28th Street and Southwest Cornell Avenue.

Meanwhile the roadways between Palm City and Port Salerno, including Martin Highway and Kanner Highway, were dotted with downed palm fronds but were free of flooding. Streets in Rocky Point, near the Manatee Pocket and along Old Dixie Highway remained clear with light traffic.

Martin County remains under a tropical storm warning, according to the National Weather Service office in Melbourne.

Coastal and inland areas can expect below tropical storm-force winds of 30-40 miles per hour, with wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour possible. Localized storm surge may potentially reach 2 feet above ground through early Saturday morning.

Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers, and is writer and co-host of Uncertain Terms, a true crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Roadways in Palm City, Stuart, Port Salerno escape major flooding