HOLLYWOOD BEACH, Fla. – On Hollywood Beach, consistently strong winds picked up the surf before the sun set Saturday.
The tropical storm-like system was relentless in battering the famous Broadwalk, which is typically packed on a Saturday in December.
This is high season for tourists.
“I thought I’d be here for some sun,” Noor Rassoul, who is visiting from Toronto, said.
There was no sun Saturday for the Toronto visitor and her old college buddies, who we found walking down the Broadwalk despite the bad weather.
“You see this wind – it ain’t stopping me,” Leasean McDonald said.
At that point, the barriers placed along the beach were holding on, keeping most of the wind-driven sand and water off the Broadwalk, but certainly not keeping everyone away.
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“It is what it is, but not quite to this extreme, yes,” Lisa Richter, who is visiting from Melbourne, said.
This was supposed to be a nice getaway for Richter and her husband, Scott.
“We were totally surprised. Didn’t know this was happening. Usually this is summer weather,” Scott Richter said.
It’s certainly not what we are used to in winter and not the winter a couple from Minnesota was hoping for.
Still, they said they were happy to be in South Florida as it is in the lower 30s back home.
“It’s great -- we get the whole place to ourselves,” Jen Anthony and Kiko Doran said.
Before night fell, we noticed the barriers were working for the most part.
Flooding on the Broadwalk has been an issue in the past.
But after dark, the barriers couldn’t stand to the relentless rain and wind, and the water and sand had crossed over to the walkway.
But it was a different world inside some of the restaurants that remained opened.
Ocean Alley welcomed patrons with open arms.
“It’s a little bit of a ghost town, but we’ll pick up tomorrow,” one bartender said.
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