Orange cones placed along Alton Road and sandbags piled at entrances to nearby businesses are signs that salty bay water will soon be seeping up into storm drains.
At high tide Monday morning, Alton Road at 10th Street was covered by water.
A block away, surveillance cameras at Miami Beach Liquors captured water covering the sidewalk.
Just north, at the Miami Beach Crossfit, water came close to the entrance where sandbags are on hand.
"We've had the sandbags here just in case any of the flooding comes in. There's been a lot of rain," said manager Raymond Irizarry
Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said fall high tides are expected to be unusually high the next few days.
The warning prompted business owners and residents on Miami Beach to remember record-breaking flooding in June of 2009, when the perfect storm of heavy rain, an outdated storm drain system, and high tide flooded stores and stalled hundreds of cars.
The City of Miami Beach is in the middle of fixing its nearly half-century-old drainage infrastructure. In the short-term, the city has dedicated $160 million toward storm drain improvements.
NOAA predicts tides to be at their highest October 15th through the 18th, and November 13th and 16th. On those days, the tides are expected to be 9 to 11 inches above the average high tides for 2012.
Tide Table - Government Cut Tide Station
Date Day Time Tidal Height (ft) Approx Height Above Average High Tide for 2012 (in) 10/14/2012 Sun 08:11AM 3.3 9 10/15/2012 Mon 09:00AM 3.4 10 10/16/2012 Tues 09:49AM 3.5 11 10/17/2012 Wed 10:39AM 3.5 11 10/18/2012 Thurs 11:31AM 3.4 10 10/19/2012 Fri 12:25PM 3.3 9 11/13/2012 Tues 07:40AM 3.3 9 11/14/2012 Wed 08:31AM 3.4 10 11/15/2012 Thurs 09:23AM 3.4 10 11/16/2012 Fri 10:14AM 3.3 9 11/17/2012 Sat 11:07AM 3.2 8
Click here to take a look at NOAA's tides and currents data.