Hurricane Isaias is churning in the Gulf of Mexico, and its effects are already showing up on the Texas coast. Red flags are flying on city beaches and are expected to remain up all weekend, with city lifeguards patrolling throughout.
No beach access roads are closed right now, but city officials say that could change if conditions worsen through the weekend. In some areas, water is already pushing up to the dunes, covering parts of the beach where people normally drive.
Lacy Quinones, the Beach Safety Outreach Coordinator, says the storm is creating a serious risk of rip currents.
"We're going to have that high risk of rip currents, meaning you can get pulled out in the water, so it's just better to stay off the beach for this weekend for sure," Quinones said.
Quinones also warned against driving on the beach, pointing to coastal flooding and hidden hazards in the sand.
"My advice, don't do it. You can always, as you can see, we do have a lot of that coastal flooding, and then there's always gonna be those divots in the sand where it might be deeper than what it kind of appears on the surface," Quinones said.
For most people, the conditions are a warning. For surfers, they are an opportunity.
Carson Stasney was one of dozens of surfers who paddled out near the jetty to take advantage of the rare surf.
"They were barreling here and there, really nice rollers here and there, really soft. The wind was blowing, so they're making it perfect, but then they would like slam down really hard," Stasney said.
Stasney has been surfing most of his life and says days like this don't come around often on the Texas coast.
"It's pretty much almost like Hawaii," Stasney said.
Walker Lee says around 20 surfers were in the water this morning, chasing some of the biggest waves they've seen in months.
"It was a little like heart pounding just a little bit, but exciting to, to finally have something big to surf on, drop down on it, get wiped out a couple times," Lee said.
Blaine Johnson has only been surfing for about a year. He says the waves wore him out almost as soon as he paddled out.
"If you're not like a super strong swimmer, I definitely wouldn't recommend going out. I mean, it's really strong out there. I mean, you're getting pushed under and you're getting held under for a little bit, so I'd be careful," Johnson said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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