not-so-perfect beach

BEWARE BEACH HAZARDS

Knowing how to navigate shoreline dangers will help you keep your family safe. BY ED BROTAK

lorida families take precautions against numerous weather hazards, things like high heat, excessive sun, violent thunderstorms and hurricanes. Even on a beautiful day, Floridians must also be aware of conditions at the beach.

Many media outlets give a beach forecast that contains these weather elements, and it often comes from the official National Weather Service “Surf Zone Forecast” available at weather.gov. For their forecast, the NWS considers the “surf zone” to extend from the high tide level on the beach out to the seaward side of the breaking waves, typically the area beachgoers will be in.

Besides the weather, the beach forecast often includes water conditions such as wave heights, tide information and water temperature. If needed, the NWS may also issue a high surf advisory or warning. Officially, an advisory means “breaking wave action poses a threat to life and property within the surf zone.” Actual criteria for issuance may vary by region. A warning denotes a “heightened threat to life and property within the surf zone.”

Nearly 100 people die every year in the U.S. due to rip currents despite the fact that lifeguards typically save thousands of people from rip currents each year.

One of the greatest concerns at the beach is the occurrence of rip currents. Waves wash up on shore and then the water washes back into the ocean or gulf. When this return flow gets concentrated, rip currents occur. Typically, they are stronger when waves are higher and coming in more frequently. Rip currents vary in width from as narrow as 10 feet to several hundred feet across. They extend out from the beach past where the waves are breaking, anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand feet off the beach where they will dissipate. The speed of even a moderate rip current is faster than most people can swim.

Nearly 100 people die every year in the U.S. due to rip currents despite the fact that lifeguards typically save thousands of people from rip currents each year. With its miles of beaches and favorable climate, Florida leads the country in rip current fatalities, averaging more than 20 drownings per year. Conditions are more dangerous on the east coast, but even Southwest Florida is not immune.

When describing water conditions, the beach forecast always highlights the rip current threat. The Rip Current Risk forecast is given as low (unlikely), moderate (possible) or high (life-threatening rip currents likely in the surf zone). Beaches with patrols or lifeguards post warning signs if rip currents are present.

Several beaches in Southwest Florida don’t have lifeguards or patrols, so be aware. Familiarize yourself with them and check forecasts before going to the beach.

Rip currents may show themselves with a water color that is decidedly different from its surroundings or an area where things floating in the water are quickly swept out to sea. But there also may not be any readily visible sign.

For safety, it’s best to swim at beaches that have lifeguards on duty. Never swim alone. If you get caught in a rip current, the main thing is to not panic. Don’t try swimming back to shore against the current; it’s too strong. You will tire yourself out and get in real trouble. Swim parallel to the beach. Most rip currents aren’t very wide, and you could get out of it. Or let it take you out beyond the breakers where it will end and then swim back. Certainly call for help; lifeguards know how to deal with this situation.

If someone else is in trouble, get help from a lifeguard. People have drowned trying to save someone else. Again, you must remain calm and try to communicate with the person in trouble, telling them what to do. If you must act, get a flotation device and remember what you need to do.

One beach hazard that cannot be specifically forecast is the “sneaker wave.” Among the typical waves at the beach, there are occasionally larger ones. This is normal, and they usually just get you wetter than usual. But sometimes, there are much larger waves. In the open ocean, they’re called “rogue waves” but near shore they’re called “sneaker waves.” Large ones can even sweep people walking on the beach into the water and out to sea. Always keep an eye out for incoming waves.

Those colored flags you see at many beaches — particularly on the east coast — depict water conditions and possible hazards. Green means it’s safe to swim. A yellow flag indicates moderate surf and/or currents. Even good swimmers need to be cautious and weak swimmers should use a personal floatation device or stay out of the water. Dangerous high surf or currents are shown by a red flag. Swimming is not forbidden but certainly discouraged. A double red flag (or a sign showing a swimmer with a line through them) means the beach is closed. If dangerous marine life is present (jelly fish, stingrays, sea snakes or other dangerous fish), a purple flag will be flown. Shark sightings would prompt a red or double red flag.

Sometimes the condition of the water itself can be problematic. It may be a pollutant in the water. Or it may be what is officially called a harmful algal bloom, or HAB. Southwest Florida gets one of the most noxious of the HABs, the so-called “red tide.”

The Karenia brevis algae associated with red tide is always present in the Gulf of Mexico. For reasons not fully understood, there are times when the seasonal bloom explodes. The water may become so saturated with this algae that it appears reddish brown. Most importantly, K. brevis emits a toxin. This toxin can kill marine life: fish, sea birds, sea turtles and manatees.

Crashing waves can put toxin particles into the air. It produces an unpleasant odor. Worse yet, it can induce respiratory stress including coughing and breathing difficulties. A couple of good websites to check on a beach’s red tide status are tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/hab/gomx. html and myfwc.com/redtidestatus. A beach advisory in these cases advises people that they go into the water at their own risk. If conditions warrant, a beach closure may be ordered for public safety.