A strong onshore flow brought swaying trees, standing water and flickering lights Monday, according to The Weather Authority’s Richard Nunn.
Water levels were expected to rise 2 to 4 feet above normal, so a Coastal Flood Warning and a Coastal Flood Advisory remain in effect through Tuesday morning.
Standing water will be possible along the St. Johns River and the beaches as the tides run well above normal.
At noon, Florida Department of Transportation crews could be seen piling sand along A1A in Vilano Beach after the road became swamped with water, although it was still passable.
MORE: Latest forecast | Live radar | Tides and more
St. Johns County Emergency Management said the Army Corps of Engineers plans to build up that stretch of the beach through renourishment starting in late summer.
St. Johns County Emergency Management said the weather Monday is making the rebuilding process following last hurricane season even more difficult. That includes dunes that haven’t been fully rebuilt since they were damaged months ago because of hurricanes.
Officials said the Army Corps of Engineers plans to build up beaches in this area through renourishment starting late summer.
But Joe Giammanco with the emergency management said what happened Monday sets back their rebuilding process.
“What we’re doing now is when the storm passes we’ll go out and assess and see what we need to do to recover and see what we need to assist from recovery from Ian and Nicole, and how this storm impacted those areas,” said Joe Gimmanco, Director of Emergency Management St. Johns County.
Choppy waters and heavy rains led to some sand dunes in St. Johns County washing out.
In downtown St. Augustine, high tide was at noon. The area, particularly near the Bridge of Lions, is prone to flooding and drivers were urged not to drive around barricades and to have an alternative route planned in case of road closures.
Because of the frequent flooding in the area, the FDOT is building a drainage improvement project on King Street near A1A.
RELATED: Road project set to tackle flooding, drainage issues in downtown St. Augustine
FDOT engineers are placing a 5-foot-wide drainpipe to replace the outdated version that’s already underground.
It starts on King Street and goes all the way up to the Bay Wall.
The project also includes adding a masonry wall, sidewalk and bike path.
In addition to the flood warning, a High Rip Current Risk will continue throughout the week.
That means pay attention to flags at the beach, and if you see red, stay out of the water.