Padre Island National Seashore closing South Beach ahead of tropical storm

Driving access on North and South Beach has closed

Padre Island National Seashore. (National Park Service Photos)

SAN ANTONIOUpdate: Vehicle access to North Beach has closed due to coastal flooding caused by Tropical Storm Beta. Driving accesses to both North and South beaches will be restored as soon as conditions allow.

Bracing for flooding due to Tropical Depression 22, the Padre Island National Seashore will close its South Beach to visitors this weekend.

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South Beach will be closed to vehicles starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, the national seashore said in an email. It will remain closed until conditions allow it to safely reopen.

Park rangers will begin notifying those already camping on the beach on Saturday morning.

“Minor coastal flooding has already begun at times of high tide and is expected to become progressively higher through the weekend,” the park said.

The tropical depression developed in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday and may strengthen to tropical storm status.

It is possible the depression could mean increased rain chances for parts of the KSAT viewing area, but there’s uncertainty as to its impact on the Gulf Coast and South Texas.

The National Hurricane Center has reported there’s an increasing risk of heavy rainfall and flooding along the coast from Sunday through the middle of next week.

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About the Author:

Rebecca Salinas is an award-winning digital journalist who joined KSAT in 2019. She reports on a variety of topics for KSAT 12 News.