A Rip Current Statement has been issued by the National Weather Service out of Mount Holly, New Jersey, taking effect at 4:22 AM on Wednesday, June 18, and remaining in place through 8:00 PM that same evening.
Rip currents are powerful, fast-moving channels of water that can pull swimmers away from shore quickly. They are one of the leading causes of drowning deaths at beaches each year.
Residents and visitors planning to spend time at local beaches on Wednesday should be aware of the elevated risk. Swimmers caught in a rip current are advised not to fight the current by swimming directly back to shore, but instead to swim parallel to the shoreline until free of the current, then make their way back to the beach.
The National Weather Service recommends only swimming at beaches with a lifeguard on duty during periods when rip current alerts are active.
