On spring break? Swimmer warnings for Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami beaches extended
The high rip current risk warning from the National Weather Service not only has been extended to Wednesday’s first hours, but also includes Palm Beach County.
The weather service’s second high rip current risk warning of the week started Sunday at 8 a.m. and now runs until 2 a.m. Wednesday. It covers coastal Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. So, in addition to the beaches of Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach, this concerns beaches in Homestead, Key Biscayne, Sunny Isles Beach, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood and all sandy swim points from the Palm Beach-Martin county line down to the Miami-Dade-Monroe county line.
If this sounds familiar, earlier this week, a similar rip current statement was in effect until Wednesday night. And, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue had to save 18 people last Sunday and the NWS said more had to be saved early in the week, so the NWS warning that “Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water” can’t be said enough.
When there’s a high rip current risk:
▪ Swim near a lifeguard and obey the red flags telling you where not to swim.
▪ You might get caught in a rip current. Don’t swim against it. If you can, try to swim parallel to the shore until you’re out of the rip current.
▪ You might not be able to swim out of the rip current. If that’s the case, relax, float and tread water. We repeat “relax” — this is no time to panic.
▪ If you can’t get out of the current, again, don’t panic. Try to face the shore, then yell and wave for help.
This story was originally published March 13, 2022 at 9:40 AM.
