Midtown Beach in Palm Beach Remains Closed After a Week, as Water Pushes Up to the Dunes

Midtown Beach in Palm Beach remained closed on Monday, Nov. 2, marking a weeklong shutdown caused by erosion and dangerous ocean conditions, the Palm Beach Daily News reported. Access is still not safe, with water still pushing up against the dunes at high tide, said Craig Pollock, the town's chief lifeguard.

The beach has been closed since Monday, Oct. 26, when town officials said strong surf, powerful currents and higher-than-normal tides created conditions that were not safe, the Daily News reported. The closure came just before the peak of the highest king tide of the year, which forecasters said occurred on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 27 for the island, when high tide also sent water rushing up along the Lake Trail and other spots along the Lake Worth Lagoon. The current king tides are part of a longer cycle that began in mid-October and is forecast to continue through the Nov. 9 new moon and into Nov. 12, according to the South Florida Water Management District.

For Tuesday, Nov. 3, tides are forecast to be at their highest between 3 and 4 a.m., and again between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m., according to NOAA, and as of noon Monday there was a high risk of rip currents through the evening on Nov. 3, National Weather Service forecasters said. Continuing rain could increase the chance of flooding in low-lying areas along the coast during high tide, forecasters cautioned.