Wild Winds In Hollywood Ruins Day For Tourists & Beachgoers

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – South Florida has been under a wind advisory much of the day, and the wind in Hollywood actually ruined the day for tourists and beachgoers.

"It's been windy the last couple of days," said Marc Antoine. "We wanted to go snorkeling today but it was too windy."

Patricia Guzman added, "We were going to go out kayaking but we didn't because the wind was too strong."

Guzman and her husband are visiting from out of town. They thought it would be sunny south Florida when they arrived.

"We're trying to celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary and we came here from Indiana," Guzman said. "It's 40 degrees there and I can't believe how stormy it is."

Veronica Muñoz works at the Hollywood brewing company. The bad weather lately has meant less customers.

"Right now we are in slow season anyway, so it's going to be a little bit slower," Muñoz said. "But this just drags everybody away from the beach."

Winds have been blowing off the ocean at speeds between 20 and 30 miles per hour with some gusts well over 40 miles per hour.

Those speeds should be taken very seriously.

Lightweight cars could be difficult to drive, especially on bridges and overpasses. Small items such as lawn furniture and empty trash cans will be blown around. And small tree branches could snap off.

And because of the onshore flow, the surf has been up at area beaches and the risk of rip currents remains high.

Swimmers should swim near a lifeguard or stay out of the water entirely – and maybe even the beach all together!

"There's too much wind. So we can't even go in the beach, so that's why we are leaving," Antoine said.

The high pressure system responsible for the strong winds will gradually settle into the area over the weekend, allowing winds to slowly drop.

However, don't expect calm conditions until possibly sometime next week.