This 1-minute rip current video could save your life

From Dan Zarrow’s weather blog for Friday: “Please stay out of the ocean. 6 to 10 foot ocean waves will batter beaches. A high risk of dangerous rip currents will keep red flags flying at all New Jersey beaches.”

This is a result of Dorian, and you should take Dan seriously. It’s after Labor Day and most beaches have no lifeguards now. With waves this size these rip currents could be monsters.

Rip currents are deadly even on a normal day. Take the case of the 15-year-old young man who’s body was found 8 blocks away from where he and his sister got caught in a rip at Spring Lake’s Brighton Avenue Beach.

We’ve all heard the advice about what to do if you get caught in one of these. Stay calm, don’t fight the current, and swim parallel to the shore until you’re in calmer water. What about avoiding getting caught in a rip current in the first place? Here’s a video I found that tells you how to spot one and therefore how to avoid one. If you have kids, make them watch this.

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