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Boca Raton beachgoers ride the wave as threats of Hurricane Dorian lessen across the city

Strong rip currents remain threat on Boca Raton beaches
Boca Raton's South Beach Park
Boca Raton's South Beach Park
Posted at 4:39 PM, Aug 31, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-31 19:10:06-04

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Just as the beaches of Boca Raton were crowding with beachgoers hitting the sand for the start of the Labor Day weekend on Saturday, Hurricane Dorian's threat at making landfall in the city diminished. As of the 11am advisory, the city of Boca Raton no longer remained in the Dorian's cone of uncertainty.

"That's awesome, best news of the week," said Natalia Amaral who moved to Boca Raton from Boston just one week ago.

"We moved here because of the weather. We were tired of the snow, Amaral said with a laugh. "Dorain was our welcome, " she said while spending the morning with her family at South Beach park.

In the water, surfers made sure not to miss the stronger surf. High winds made for some wilder than normal waves. Across beaches in the city, lifeguards posted signs warning beachgoers against strong rip currents. The latest warning extends through Sunday morning but is likely to be extended through the weekend as Dorian continues to push its way northeast hugging the coastline.

"It's a day for surfers," said Boca Raton resident Cynthia Ferrante who started her Saturday morning as she always does, picking up plastic littered along the beach.

"I'd rather be picking up shark teeth but more often than not its trash," she said. She was also relieved to learn the city was no longer under a threat from Hurricane Dorian.

"I wasn’t looking forward to a category 4 coming right down to Palm Beach, but fingers crossed, it will continue moving out off shore," she said.

Inland, city mechanic Thomas Marchant, stopped by the Boca Raton City Hall Saturday morning to make sure everything was secured. Hurricane shutters covered all windows of the building.

"We got all this stuff locked down, better safe than sorry," he said.