Helene makes for rough conditions at South Florida beaches

HOLLYWOOD - Rainy and windy conditions brought on by Hurricane Helene made for rough conditions at South Florida beaches Thursday.

On Hollywood Beach, there was lots of blowing sand, and the surf was pretty rough too, with a red flag warning meaning dangerous ocean currents.

In neighboring Dania Beach, the surf was so rough they put up double red flags, so everyone had to stay out of the water.

Meanwhile, in Davie, wind toppled a tree, crashing onto a car. No one was injured.

Elie Afriat Souvenir Shop on the Hollywood Broadwalk was nearly empty. He said it's hard to compete with stinging, blowing sand and squally rain bands.

"It's a slow time of year anyways, but usually we have more people than we have now," he said.

Luciana Azanha showed all the sand blown onto her legs by the wind.

"Look as all this sand," she said pointing at her leg. "You're kind of taking a beating today with sand!"

But she didn't mind. Thursday was a special day for her.

"Today, a year ago on this beach, right over there, I had a heart attack," she recalled.

She survived. So Helene or no Helene — she was celebrating.

"Today, I thank God for all of it, all of it, the weather, the good the bad, live life, everything is beautiful," she said with a smile.