National Rip Current Awareness Week

[Pfishingruven]

This week NOAA & The National Weather Service in conjunction with Sea Grant and the US Lifesaving Association presents Rip Current Awareness. With Summer around the corner and recreational beach and ocean swimming activities increasing, understanding rip currents, being able to identify them and at last resort being able to survive one if accidentally caught in a rip current is extremely important!

Rip Currents, often mistakenly called rip tides or undertow/undertoe, are currents that form in breaks or breaches in the sandbars that cause currents to pull perpendicular to the beach until they pass the sandbar. Rip currents are usually easy to identify, however smaller ones can be more difficult. It is easier to see them from elevation, but at ocean level, there are signs as well. If you know the signs of rip currents, identifying them is easy. Here is what the NWS says:

Signs that a rip current is present are very subtle and difficult for the average beachgoer to identify. Look for differences in the water color, water motion, incoming wave shape or breaking point compared to adjacent conditions. Look for any of these clues:
• Channel of churning, choppy water
• Area having a notable difference in water color
• Line of foam, seaweed, or debris moving steadily seaward
• Break in the incoming wave pattern
• One, all or none the clues may be visible.

Lastly, if you are accidentally caught in a rip current here is what to do!

If caught in a rip current:
• Try to remain calm to conserve energy.
• Don’t fight the current.
• Think of it like a treadmill you can’t turn off. You want to step to the side of it.
• Swim across the current in a direction following the shoreline.
• When out of the current, swim and angle away from the current and towards shore.
• If you can’t escape this, try to fl oat, or calmly tread water. Rip current strength eventually subsides offshore. When it does, swim toward shore.
• If at any time you feel you will be unable to reach shore, draw attention to yourself: face the shore, wave your arms, and yell for help.

Below are some links related to Rip Current Safety, including a link to the NWS Rip Current Safety Website, a short video on rip currents and rip current safety and a multimedia presentation on how to survive and break free of a rip current and lastly a link to real signs of drowning.

Please feel free to share this information! As fishermen, boaters and beach goers, this is important to all of us, our family and friends.

Have a great week and be safe!

NWS Rip Current Safety

Rip Current Video

Break the Grip Multimedia Presentation

Signs of Drowning

[Pfishingruven]

Sorry, this is late. There are of course, no changes from last year, but here are the upgraded graphics from the NWS Philadelphia.

[Pfishingruven]

Either I missed National Rip Current Awareness & Safety Week or they did not have one this year. Either way, I want to repost this thread. There have been rescues and deaths, already this Summer Season, associated with the ocean/surf and rougher conditions. There have not been bad conditions yet, but this weekend saw some higher surf to 4 feet with Moderate Risk of rip currents. Waves were stacked and currents were running harder than they have been, due to an offshore storm. This, along with many unguarded beaches, prompted several water emergencies and at least one drowning death that I saw reported, in LBI!

All of us here know the power of the ocean and water. The surf is no different and can be one of the most dangerous places within an ocean system. It does not take much to cause unfavorable conditions, nor much to overpower a person. ALWAYS check Surf Zone and Rip Current Forecasts from the local NWS Forecast Offices. This will give you an idea of what to expect. ALWAYS follow posted signs and warnings from local lifeguards. These professionals know the waters best!! NEVER swim when beaches are unguarded!! Even the strongest swimmers and lifeguards rely on backup and tools of the trade that may not be available during off hours. Taking a swim is not worth losing your life!

Surf Zone and Rip Current Forecasts provide daily wave heights, swell, period, wind, and temperature. They also categorize Rip Current Risks: Low (Green), Moderate (Yellow), and High (Red). These risks are a general guideline based upon meteorological and water conditions. These risks do not mean that no risk is ever possible or that local rip currents cannot happen. These risks are generalized and mean that conditions are favorable, more favorable, or most favorable for rip currents based on current conditions. Always follow the posted warnings by lifeguards and beach patrols. Forecasts are only for ocean waters. Bay waters can be just as dangerous and need to be respected as well. Follow any local warnings and know that bays have additional hazards such as man made channels, faster flowing currents, and debris hazards.

Here are links to Surf Zone and Rip Current Forecasts from the NWS Philadelphia and New York City.

NWS Philadelphia SurfZone & Rip Current Risk Forecasts

NWS New York City SurfZone & Rip Current Risk Forecasts

Here is a sample daily forecast:

NJZ026-220530-
COASTAL OCEAN-
1024 AM EDT TUE JUN 21 2016

.REST OF TODAY...
SKY WEATHER......... MOSTLY SUNNY. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS.
HIGH TEMPERATURE.... IN THE UPPER 80S.
BEACH WINDS......... WEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.
SURF................ AROUND 3 FEET.
SWELL............... EAST SWELL AROUND 3 FEET.
DOMINANT PERIOD..... 9 SECONDS.
SURF TEMPERATURE.... 67 DEGREES.
UVI INDEX........... 8 - VERY HIGH.
RIP CURRENT RISK.... MODERATE. A MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS
MEANS WIND AND OR WAVE CONDITIONS SUPPORT
STRONGER OR MORE FREQUENT RIP CURRENTS. ALWAYS
HAVE A FLOTATION DEVICE WITH YOU IN THE WATER.
SWIM ONLY IN LIFE GUARDED AREAS.
LIGHTNING THREAT.... HIGH. IMPLIES THAT THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY OR
EXPECTED.

Please review the thread and/or visit Weather Ready Nation  Rip Current Safety Website.

Weather Ready Nation Rip Current Safety

[Reelnice]

This week NOAA & The National Weather Service in conjunction with Sea Grant and the US Lifesaving Association presents Rip Current Awareness. With Summer around the corner and recreational beach and ocean swimming activities increasing, understanding rip currents, being able to identify them and at last resort being able to survive one if accidentally caught in a rip current is extremely important!

Rip Currents, often mistakenly called rip tides or undertow/undertoe, are currents that form in breaks or breaches in the sandbars that cause currents to pull perpendicular to the beach until they pass the sandbar. Rip currents are usually easy to identify, however smaller ones can be more difficult. It is easier to see them from elevation, but at ocean level, there are signs as well. If you know the signs of rip currents, identifying them is easy. Here is what the NWS says:

Signs that a rip current is present are very subtle and difficult for the average beachgoer to identify. Look for differences in the water color, water motion, incoming wave shape or breaking point compared to adjacent conditions. Look for any of these clues:
• Channel of churning, choppy water
• Area having a notable difference in water color
• Line of foam, seaweed, or debris moving steadily seaward
• Break in the incoming wave pattern
• One, all or none the clues may be visible.

Lastly, if you are accidentally caught in a rip current here is what to do!

If caught in a rip current:
• Try to remain calm to conserve energy.
• Don’t fight the current.
• Think of it like a treadmill you can’t turn off. You want to step to the side of it.
• Swim across the current in a direction following the shoreline.
• When out of the current, swim and angle away from the current and towards shore.
• If you can’t escape this, try to fl oat, or calmly tread water. Rip current strength eventually subsides offshore. When it does, swim toward shore.
• If at any time you feel you will be unable to reach shore, draw attention to yourself: face the shore, wave your arms, and yell for help.

Below are some links related to Rip Current Safety, including a link to the NWS Rip Current Safety Website, a short video on rip currents and rip current safety and a multimedia presentation on how to survive and break free of a rip current and lastly a link to real signs of drowning.

Please feel free to share this information! As fishermen, boaters and beach goers, this is important to all of us, our family and friends.

Have a great week and be safe!

NWS Rip Current Safety

Rip Current Video

Break the Grip Multimedia Presentation

Signs of Drowning

This is a great post, thanks.  More beach goers and vacationers should read this.  Most people don't know about rip currents and if they do, don't know what to do if caught in one.  I got caught in one as a kid and it was a very scary experience.