Today marks the start of Rip Current Awareness and Beach Safety Week. It comes days after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched the first rip current forecast model designed to do just that: predict rip currents. The model can predict the probability of rip currents by the hour up to six days out.
Forecasters previously could predict rip currents on a large section of the ocean only a day or two in advance, according to Gregory Dusek, the NOAA scientist who developed the model.
"The earlier prediction has potential to substantially increase awareness and reduce drownings," Dusek said in a release on NOAA's National Ocean Service website.
On average, rip currents cause around 100 deaths in the United States every year, Dusek said.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), in 2020, four deaths in New Jersey's surf zone were associated with rip and other currents.
So far in 2021, rip currents have caused five deaths in the surf zone from South Carolina to Texas, according to this National Weather Service map. No deaths have been reported in New Jersey.
NOAA defines rip currents as powerful currents of water moving away from the shore. They happen on bright, sunny days, so never assume good weather means there are no adverse conditions in the water. Always water conditions and local beach forecasts before you set foot in the surf. And always, always, always swim near a lifeguard. Fatalities are known to have happened when lifeguards were off duty or in areas where there were no lifeguards.
For more information on rip currents and safety, click here.
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