Hurricane Milton: Kite surfers carve the waves before Palm Beach closes its public beaches

With Hurricane Milton closing in on landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast as a major hurricane, Palm Beach on Wednesday experienced strong winds fueled by the storm's outer bands.

It was the the perfect day to kite surf and many fans of the sport turned out to get some time in the water at Midtown and Phipps Ocean Park beaches before they were closed because of the storm.

Among them was Saul Escobar, a Wellington-based kite surfer, who made sure to show up early to Phipps Ocean Park beach before the town closed the public beaches at noon.

"The wind is about 20 to 25 miles per hour right now, its perfect for kite surfing," Escobar told the Daily News as he prepared his kite.

The key to a good kite surfing session, Escobar said, is using the right kite size for the wind conditions.

If it's is too large, a surfer will struggle to retain control of the kite, he said. If the kite's too small, a surfer might not get enough wind to propel themselves.

Escobar was one of two surfers carving the waves at Phipps Ocean Park when the Daily News visited, but it was busier at Midtown Beach to the north where more kite surfers were catching the day's high winds.

However, while the day's weather was a dream for kite surfers, it posed a unique challenge to traditional surfers, as the choppy conditions made choosing the right wave, at the right time, an especially grueling challenge.

Visual journalist Damon Higgins contributed to this report.

This story was updated to add new information.

Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News , part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com .

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Hurricane Milton: Kite surfers carve the waves before Palm Beach closes its public beaches