ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — In the old city, the Nights of Lights displays will literally power through the weekend storm the First Alert Weather team has been telling you about for days.
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City leaders say nothing is expected to close down ahead of and during the storm. Angels in the Architecture, the company managing the light displays for Nights of Lights, says everything’s staying up and staying on.
Some of the bars and restaurants on the bayfront are treating the storm the same way.
“We’ve been around for plenty of hurricanes here, so we’re prepared for this no problem,” says Michael Dennis, service manager at Harry’s Seafood bar.
Read: First Alert Weather Days: Heavy rain, storms forecast for the Jacksonville area this weekend
Dennis says his team is preparing for this weekend’s storm to just be another round of rain. Samantha Weber, the manager at Meehan’s Irish Pub down the block, is treating it just about the same, apart from a few holiday decorations taken down.
“Our inflatables, we’ll take down too, just so we don’t see any snowmen flying away in the sky,” Weber says.
Those are just some of downtown St. Augustine’s bayfront businesses who’ve decorated for Nights of Lights, one of the largest holiday light displays in the southeast. The city says, just like the bars and restaurants, the light displays aren’t shutting down this weekend.
Officials with Angels in the Architecture tell me crews went around earlier today to make sure the lights will stay secure during the storm. If they happen to be knocked down by the heavy winds and rain, the company says a crew will be on standby to fix them.
But not everyone’s taking their chances with the storm. Klash Ravens, who owns a Palatka-based art business and sells in St. Augustine, found out about the storm through our First Alert Forecast. Along with his art, he’s now staying in this weekend.
Read: The City of St. Augustine launches a new glass recycling location
“I definitely won’t be out here because my artwork will blow away like a kite,” Ravens says.
The shops in the city say they’re keeping a watch of the weather, but aren’t letting it wash away their customers.
“It’s business as usual, we’ll just prepare for the weather and stay open,” Weber says.
Even though the Nights of Lights is staying on, the city doesn’t recommend people come downtown with the heavy winds and rain. I’ve also reached out to St. Johns County Emergency Management and am still waiting to hear back.
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