JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Ocean Rescue Lifeguards have issued a Beach Safety Alert through the this weekend - September 23 - September 25 - due to a period of dangerous and life-threatening beach conditions from Hurricane Fiona plus an incoming cold front.
Although the Beach Safety Alert is expected to expire on 09/26/2022, expect Red Flag conditions until rough surf and high rip current activity decreases to moderate conditions.
“As we track the tropics we have Fiona - a powerful hurricane over the Western Atlantic that’s moving on course,” said Action News Jax’s Chief Meterologist Mike Buresh. “Today it will be due even to the East of Jacksonville - about eight to nine hundred miles east - sending swells to our beaches and rough seas and surf. Breakers will average four feet today, five and six feet tomorrow with some extra umph from the onshore flow. There will be an average of three or four swells with an occasional five footer at high tide over the weekend. The moral of that story is high rip currents, so, it’s best advised to stay out of the water.”
Ocean Rescue Lifeguards are advising all swimmers to remain out of the water due to dangerous surf conditions. If highly experienced swimmers choose to go in the water, they should swim near a lifeguard and they should enter the water alone.
“With that relatively strong north easterly wind, coming from the Atlantic the rip current risk increases, making it espeically dangerous,” continued Buresh. “We should see some gradual improvement by the early part of next week.”
If caught in a rip current, swimmers are encouraged to relax; don’t try to swim agains the current; swim in a diagonal direction using the shoreline as the guide. For more information on beach and ocean safety and current Beach and Ocean Conditions, visit www.jacksonvillebeach.org/oceanrescue .
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