MARTIN COUNTY — As Hurricane Helene roared north off the west coast of Florida Thursday morning with the Treasure Coast under a slight risk of severe weather, a number of people in the downtown Stuart area said they weren't necessarily altering their daily routines and expressed little concern.
Mike Woodbury, 48, of Stuart, was among a handful of patrons in Osceola Street Café in downtown Stuart. He said he wasn’t going to alter his plans of walking 15 to 20 miles every morning.
“I'll spend the day still doing the same thing, braving the elements, whatever they may end up being,” Woodbury said. “Doesn't sound like we're going to get much … a little rain isn't going to slow us down, right?”
Luis Silva, 50, of Stuart, was perched at a green table outside a Dunkin’ Donuts at U.S. 1 and Kanner Highway getting coffee shortly after 6 a.m. He said he was on his way to work in Port St. Lucie at a Walgreens. He wasn’t worried about the storm.
“No concerns,” Silva said. “Another afternoon tropical storm-whatever rains that we have every day.”
Shortly before 6 a.m., traffic was light along U.S. 1 near the downtown Stuart area and also on the Roosevelt Bridge. No rain was falling, and the roadways were dry with just a slight breeze.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Milone, 47, who works at Osceola Street Café, said the eatery usually stays open during tropical storms and gets a pop of business whenever it rains. They love their customers and want to stay open to “make sure they’re fed,” they just don't serve outside in high winds, she said.
“We stay open through it all,” Milone said. “We're not going to open up the umbrellas, because when the winds get over 20 or 30 miles an hour, they've been known to fly over.”
The sun was starting to rise as Jeff Lakin, 60, did his morning walk on the boardwalk under the Roosevelt Bridge. Having recently moved to the area from New Jersey, he said he is not “too experienced” with the types of preparations for tropical storm weather.
“I’m going to do my own thing,” Lakin said. “There are good reports about when to put up hurricane shutters and I’ll do that, but otherwise it doesn’t really impact me.”
Back at Osceola Street Cafe, Marcia Whiteside, of Palm City, who said she is in her 70s, sat a couple of chairs away from Woodbury. She also did not seem too concerned.
“They're not predicting that much wind here today, so, it is what it is," Whiteside said. "We've been through a lot of these before when it's just no more than 40 mile an hour gusts, maybe during the day.”
Indian Riverside Park in Jensen Beach
Kathryn Hendron, 53, and her friend, Maryann Bermingham, 55, both longtime Jensen Beach residents, welcomed the breezy weather during their jog through Indian Riverside Park in Jensen Beach.
“At least we have some air blowing through. Usually it's warm and hot and we're sweating and having a hard time going through the day, but it's beautiful,” Hendron said.
They’ve both been watching the forecasts ahead of Helene, but neither appeared concerned about local impacts.
“Definitely paying attention,” Hendron said. “But usually when it goes to the West Coast, it's, you know.”
Bermingham, who moved to Jensen Beach in 1989, said she’s the one who always asks how bad it will get.
“I have two friends on both ends of the spectrum, like, board up your house!” she said. “And then I have this one, that's like, ‘I'm watching it; you're fine. So, I kind of go in the middle.”
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com .
Olivia Franklin is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Olivia on X @Livvvvv_5 or reach her by phone at 317-627-8048. E-mail her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: 'No concerns;' early morning risers out in downtown Stuart
Local News
Comments / 0