Hurricane Irene's waves and brief downpours hit Georgia barrier islands
Sightseers heading to beach to watch rare waves.
ST. SIMONS ISLAND - Hurricane Irene's waves and rain bands arrived on the barrier island this morning drawing onlookers to the beach but causing no problems.
Residents flocked to the beach to check out the rarely seen waves, but some, who weren't prepared for the rain bands, got drenched in the sudden downpours.
As the tide was headed out, Jason Smith launched a kayak on the northern end of St. Simons' beach and paddled out into the big waves breaking between St. Simons and Sea Island.
One implausible site was Ben Truman and Mike Kula of Brunswick who lugged fishing gear onto the small pier at Gould's Inlet. They kept their lines dry, however, and spent the early morning with their camera phones getting photos of the surf and clouds.
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Truman and Kula said they knew it was too rough to fish, but used it as an excuse to get out of the house.
The National Weather Service has a tropical storm warning in effect for the waters off the coast and high surf flood advisories for the beaches. Flooding is unlikely through much of the day, however, because the next high tide is after 6 p.m.
