Aug 30, 2009 3:44 pm US/Eastern
NY Officials Close Beaches As Danny Passes
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Officials were warning people to stay out of the water at scores of New York beaches because of high surf and pollution churned up by the remnants of Tropical Storm Danny.
On Long Island, Nassau County's health department closed 20 beaches Saturday because of heavy rainfall. Suffolk County closed two beaches and advised against bathing at 64 more.
Storm water runoff often leads to sewage discharges and elevated bacteria levels on Long Island sound.
Health officials said the beaches will be reopened once tidal cycles have flushed the area.
A smaller number of beaches on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island were affected. New York City banned swimming at its beaches because of rip currents, but said people can still use the sand.
Tropical Storm Danny lost steam and, while it did cause treacherous conditions in the Ocean, people still headed out to the beaches to make the most out of one of the last weekends of summer.
Waves continued to pound the beach at Smith Point Park Saturday night, and while Tropical Storm Danny may have pushed away sun-soaking weather earlier, folks like the Wells' pulled out their lounge chairs to enjoy the view from the sand.
We were all thinking we were going to get this big tropical storm and have fun, but we're having a good time anyway," Kansas resident Virginia Wells said.
"The water, the waves, the sound – it's relaxing, it really is," Victoria's husband, Cullen Wells, said.
The Office of Emergency Management in the town of Islip can relax now after being on high alert for Danny's potentially powerful punch.
The storm just panned out to be a regular rain storm. We had steady rain overnight, we anticipated some flooding," Richard Gimbl, of the OEM, said. "Didn't have any call outs, no flooding to speak of. It was a non-existent storm, a regular rain storm."
The storm still churned up volatile water conditions, which surfers and brave swimmers on the South Shore of Long Island enjoyed all the way out to Montauk Point.
"You feel like you're gonna break your neck or something," Mastic Beach resident Nick Spreranza said. "The waves are strong, you can feel the current tearing at your feet."
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Jimena formed early Saturday in the Pacific Ocean south of Mexico. Jimena, the 10th named storm of the Pacific season, is expected to get stronger and could become a hurricane over the next day or two.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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