- Rip tide formation is often the first sign that a hurricane is due to make landfall. Hurricanes' strong winds create a storm surge that propels increasingly large waves against the shoreline and these waves move the sediment along the sea floor toward the shore to create a sandbar. Eventually, the water pressure from the surge punches a gap in the sandbar, creating a channel that the surging waves flow through. The resulting current from that flow creates the rip tide.
- Rip tides are present long before their parent hurricane makes landfall, even in clear, sunny conditions, and they can gain strength and speed without warning. The higher waves accompanying a rip tide can knock a bather in shallow water off her feet, making it easy for the current to drag her out to sea. Once the hurricane reaches land, the resulting rip tides can erode beaches and undermine the foundations of buildings and highways along the coast.
- If you're not a frequent beach-goer, the signs of a rip tide won't be obvious, but they do leave visual clues. A stream of churning water flowing through the surf is one warning sign, and you might also notice the resulting disruption in the pattern of the waves breaking against the shore. A stream of sea foam and debris flowing out to sea indicates a rip tide's presence and the water within a rip tide has a noticeably different shade than that of the surrounding water.
- If you've heard predictions of strong storms or spot red flags flying at your beach, don't go swimming, no matter how mild the weather seems. If you're caught in a rip tide, don't try to fight the current by swimming directly to shore. Shout and get a life guard's attention if possible. Swim parallel to the beach --- you won't meet heavy resistance and you'll only have 100 feet to swim at the most before you're free from the current. Once you're out of the rip tide, swim away from it at an angle, heading back towards shore.
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