CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Visitors out on Padre Island are feeling some of the effects of the tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico with higher tides and coastal flooding.
The Padre Island National Seashore has temporarily closed South Beach to vehicle traffic in anticipation of coastal flooding.
Out-of-town visitors got in one last beach day before rain chances pick up late Tuesday evening.
The tropical disturbance in the Gulf might be hundreds of miles away, but it's still bringing dark skies, big waves and coastal flooding to our local beaches.
"There's a storm brewing," said one little girl visiting the beach.
The spectacle attracted dozens of beachgoers including Mary Roberts who was visiting from Ohio.
"My niece got a hold of us and said, 'You need to get to the beach right now and look and see what it's all about,'" she said.
Some families did not leave the steps of the Michael J. Ellis Seawall, while others splashed across the flooded beach to reach the waves.
Lina Banda and her family from San Antonio said they were caught off guard.
"We weren't even expecting it, we thought it was going to be a nice day; the waves are huge," she said.
Red flags posted up on the beach served as a warning for visitors that the rip current risk is dangerously high. Lifeguards kept a close eye on those choosing to brave the surf.
"Big waves, rip currents, so be careful he went into a rip current once and it was scary," Tamera Salazar said about her family member.
At Whitecap Beach, the water is all the way up to the roadway, and had people ditching their cars and walking the rest of the way onto the beach.
"It's putting a damper on our vacation," said one visitor.
It even had surfers staying put calling it 'washing machine' conditions.
"It's not safe for most people to be out," Cliff Schlabach with the Surfrider Foundation said. "Surfers, we usually don't go out in these conditions, wait until the storm passes by."
The City of Corpus Christi closed the Packery Channel Jetty walkway gate as a safety measure.
"We've had issues before where people have got washed off the jetty and drowned, so the City is trying to be extra careful so we don't lose anybody in these large surf conditions," Schlabach said.
City Manager Peter Zanoni said they are also closing Access Road 3A due to a hole that has formed at the entrance to the beach.
All other beach access points remain open as of Tuesday night.