Dangerous surf, rip currents expected for South Shore this weekend

The National Weather Service has issued a high surf advisory from 6 a.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday, which it warns will cause dangerous waves and rip currents this Fourth of July weekend.

Hurricane Arthur, which is currently off the coast of North Carolina and making it’s way up the East Coast, is stirring up high wind and waves that combine to cause rip currents. The waves will build to six to 10 feet, the advisory said, and “dangerous and frequent” rip currents can be expected.

With the holiday weekend kicking off on Friday, the beaches are sure to be packed, and Long Beach Chief of Lifeguards Paul Gillespie said beachgoers should be cautious about entering the water this weekend.

“My suggestion is talk to the lifeguards, see if it’s safe enough to go in the water,” Gillespie said.

Lifeguards will be able to tell people if the water is safe, and what areas to avoid, he said. If the water is open, Gillespie said that flags will denote the safe space to swim in, and added that swimmers should never swim outside of the flags. He also warned that people should never swim in the ocean without lifeguards on duty

If you do get caught in a rip current, Gillespie said not to swim against it to try to get back to shore. He said that the signal of being caught in a rip current is feeling yourself move backwards in the water. He said swimmers should swim to the left or right, parallel to the beach, to escape the current, before trying to swim back to shore.

“The majority of people are not avid swimmers; they get tired and they panic,” Gillespie said of people who try to swim against the current.

Gillespie doesn’t anticipate crowds in Long Beach on Friday because of the projected poor weather. But Hurricane Arthur is expected to pass far to the east of Long Island by Friday evening, and the weather should turn around for Saturday and Sunday he said, drawing thousands out to the beach. But he warned that Saturday will be the most dangerous day in the water.

“The day after the storm, the surf is tremendous,” Gillespie said. “Sunday it should be calm again.”

Gillespie said that depending on the severity of the surf, the Long Beach Lifeguards may need to close the water to swimmers entirely, or only let people wade in waist deep. However, he said that even when the water is closed to swimmers, it remains open to surfers. Gillespie said that the decision will be made early in the morning, so people can check the city’s website, www.longbeachny.gov, to see if the water is closed before making the trek down to the beach.