High tides force closure of Cameron County beaches

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas ( ValleyCentral ) — High tide was just before nine Sunday morning and when combined with the rough seas of Tropical Storm Beryl, it forced officials to close a number of county access beach areas.

The waves have been powerful all throughout the day. A county official we spoke to said they are monitoring the tides. He expects the county beach will not reopen until tomorrow morning.

However, that didn’t stop tourists from going out exploring. Rain has been sparse on South Padre Island, but Beryl is still causing rough tides on the northern side of the coast.

Patrol vehicles have been placed at the entrances to several county beaches and patrolling down the boulevard. The dreary weather did not stop visitors from coming to see the waves for themselves.

“Its a beautiful view out there as there is nobody,” said Rudy Segura, a San Benito resident. “The beach really looks beautiful and really clean and smooth and it looks nice. I came out and took some pictures of it and everything. Kids were hoping they see a shark and alligator or something, but we are here exploring.”

Segura was out watching the tides with his family this Sunday. He says it is the first time in his life that he has seen the beach closed and also the tides so high.

However, he did not drive onto the beaches as he knows it can get dangerous.

“If you have a four-by-four you normally don’t necessarily mess with the water and the sand at the same time,” he added. “You really don’t want to do that because you sink and then it creates suction, and you are stuck. Now, it really isn’t driveable and I really don’t recommend anybody to be in the water now because of the rip currents and everything going on now.”

Cameron County Parks Director Joe Eliseo Vega says this is the reason why Cameron County decided to close the beach accesses. He says it can get very dangerous for vehicles or people to enter the areas and accidents can happen.

“When you got tides going up to the dune line then a vehicle can get stuck and if they get stuck then it is going to be very hard for emergency vehicles to go in there and get them rescue during high tide,” Vega said. “We try to be precautionary and vigilant because many incidents can happen.”

Vega says that the high tides being experienced now are not as bad as those seen during Tropical Storm Alberto just a few weeks ago. Vega also adds the tides are also causing beach erosion.

However, they will be monitoring the damage once the tides get back to normal.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KVEO-TV.