Rip Current Warning Issued for Florida's East Coast
The National Weather Service has issued warnings for dangerous rip currents along parts of Florida's east coast. A rip current statement is in effect for coastal Flagler County until Wednesday evening, while the warning for coastal Volusia County extends into early Wednesday morning. Beachgoers are advised to exercise caution.
- Rip currents are powerful, narrow channels of water flowing away from shore, often forming at breaks in sandbars or near structures like jetties. They can move faster than an Olympic swimmer, at speeds of up to eight feet per second. - Florida leads the nation in rip current fatalities, accounting for 143 of the 435 U.S. deaths recorded between 2017 and June 2023. In a two-week period in June 2023, at least 11 people drowned in rip currents along the Florida Panhandle and Alabama coast. - The National Weather Service issues a three-tiered risk outlook: Low, Moderate (meaning life-threatening rip currents are possible), and High (meaning life-threatening rip currents are likely). Many recent drownings occurred on days when double red flags were posted, indicating the water was closed to the public. - Onshore winds are a primary cause of rip currents in Florida, with research in South Florida showing a correlation with 15–20 knot onshore winds and wave heights of 0.6–0.9 meters. - Visual indicators of a rip current can include a channel of churning, choppy water; a line of foam or debris moving steadily out to sea; or a noticeable break in the incoming wave pattern. - If caught in a rip current, the primary advice is not to fight the current directly. Instead, a person should remain calm, swim parallel to the shoreline until out of the current, and then swim diagonally back to the beach.
