Rip current risk: Hilton Head beaches flying red flags Friday after rare pair of drownings
All Hilton Head Island beaches raised red flags Friday due to “rough surf conditions” and a moderate risk of rip currents, according to Shore Beach Service. The island’s privately contracted beach patrol service limited swimmers to waist-deep water and advised beachgoers to check in with a lifeguard before entering the ocean.
As of Friday morning, lifeguards on duty were reporting high surf and “longshore currents,” which run parallel to the beach and cause large waves to hit the shore at an angle, leading to more dangerous swimming conditions.
If you’ve ever noticed yourself drifting away from your spot on the beach while swimming in the ocean, you likely were caught in a longshore current. They are considered less dangerous than rip currents because they run along the shoreline instead of away from it, but their strong force can knock over children and weaker adults wading in the ocean. Longshore currents can also form conditions that generate rip currents, experts say.
In deciding when to raise warning flags, Shore Beach Service follows the guidance of the National Weather Service, which at 10 a.m. Friday morning issued a hazardous weather outlook for coastal South Carolina. Meteorologists say Beaufort County is at moderate risk for rip currents until 8 p.m. Friday. No extreme conditions were forecast for the weekend.
Rip currents are forceful currents of water flowing away from shore at surf beaches and typically extend from near the shoreline, through the surf zone and past the line of breaking waves, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Under certain conditions, the currents reach dangerous speeds and pose a threat to swimmers if they’re pulled offshore and unable to keep themselves afloat.
Friday marks the third day this week that Hilton Head beaches were under a red-flag warning due to potential rip currents, which Shore Beach Service director Mike Wagner says is “way more” than typical. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration says Hurricane Ernesto is causing dangerous surf conditions across the East Coast during one of the last busy weekends of the summer, even with the storm hundreds of miles offshore.
The series of warnings follows two separate drownings in the island’s waters in one day. On Aug. 16, two vacationers were pronounced dead after being pulled from the surf and given CPR. That afternoon, the NWS issued a dangerous rip current warning for South Carolina and Georgia beaches.
Both drownings happened in areas where Shore Beach Service does not station permanent guards. These spots, which are typically less crowded, are instead surveyed by lifeguards in beach patrol trucks.
This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 12:10 PM.
