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Whipping Winds Make Juno Beach Intracoastal Waterway Look Like River

/ CBS Miami

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JUNO BEACH (CBSMiami) -- It was a night of heavy wind and rain in Juno Beach as Hurricane Matthew made its presence felt.

Whipping winds made the normally calm intracoastal waterway look like a river.

On the water, boats were tossed around as exploding transformers lit up the sky.

Throughout the day, curious residents and tourists made their way along the sand to check out the weather.

Surfers and adrenaline seekers were seen taking advantage of the waves, despite the warnings to seek shelter.

Some people splashed around in the ocean, bobbing under powerful waves.

But with gusty winds hitting nearly 60 miles per hour, it wasn't fun for everyone.

"My legs hurt from the sand," one person told CBS4's Ted Scouten. "It's like stuck to my legs. It's stinging. It stings when it hits you."

A lot of people packed onto the beach, even though it should have been evacuated.

It's been nearly a decade since hurricane hit the area.

Many just wanted to see Mother Nature in action, hoping we'd be spared a direct hit.

"Seems everybody saying that we've been through so many of these and not had any serious altercation," Ryan Hale said. "Hopefully it will be the same thing.  Just betting on the past and hoping it stays that way."

The mandatory evacuation had been set for the Barrier Island, which stretches from Singer Island to Boca Raton.

A total of 13 shelters are open in Palm Beach County, with roughly 1,600 people hunkering down there.

So far, about 6,000 Palm Beach residents are without power.

© 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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