Winds starting to whip in Jacksonville Beach as safety alert remains in place through weekend

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – The winds began to noticeably pick up Wednesday morning in Jacksonville Beach as preparations continued for win, rain and possible flooding from Tropical Storm Nicole.

The system is expected to become a hurricane before it strikes the Florida coast Wednesday night.

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Jacksonville Beach is scheduled to host the Super Girl Surf Pro contest, along with live music performances this weekend. News4JAX reached out to organizers to find out if the schedule will change. We did not hear back but the organizers sent a release Wednesday indicating all events were going ahead as planned.

Jacksonville Beach Ocean Rescue issued a beach safety alert through the weekend, and officials are warning people not to go into the water due to the dangerous conditions.

Early on Tuesday, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry warned everyone to “stay out of the water” at the beaches as red flags and high-hazard conditions remain in effect. According to city officials, there could be waves as high as 10 to 15 feet.

Curry also announced that Friday’s Veterans Day Parade and breakfast in Jacksonville were canceled because of the storm.

Lifeguards and crews could be seen getting ready for the storm Tuesday evening with lifeguard stands being brought off the beach, along with trash cans.

There was also one crew with a backhoe dumping sand from the beach, seemingly to shore up the sand dunes and prepare for storm surge. Many along the beach eroded due to Hurricane Ian.

Trash pickup

Due to Tropical Storm Nicole, Waste Management will suspend collection service Thursday, Nov. 10.

Thursday garbage and yard waste customers will receive service on their next regularly scheduled collection day. Thursday recycling customers will be serviced on Friday, and Friday customers will be serviced on Saturday.