Hurricane Hermine bringing strong surf, rip currents to New England

September 1, 2016 7:54 pm

By Bianca Buono

bbuono@abc6.com

@BBuonoABC6

Labor Day weekend is expected to be one of the busiest weekends of the year at the beach, but lifeguards are warning patrons of some dangerous conditions. Hurricane Hermine is bringing strong waves and rip currents to Southern New England.

"It appears we’re going to have strong northeast winds, 20-30 miles per hour, and surf in the 8 to potentially 15 foot range,” said Brian Guadagno, the senior lifeguard at Narragansett Town Beach.

That on top of one of the busiest weekends of the year makes for a dangerous combination.

"We’re making rescues constantly. I mean we can make as many as 30 rescues in a day here,” Guadagno said.

The majority of those rescues are the result of strong rip currents that can pull swimmers out to sea.

"Rip currents on this beach are a very prominent issue. They move and they change from moment to moment and they shift consistently with the tides and the water conditions,” said Guadagno.

Over in Massachusetts, lifeguards expect much of the same.

"That area of sand that you see coming up that’s where currents are actually pulling from so all that is depending on how wide it could be. It could be up to 25 yards wide,” said Sean Sweeney, the head lifeguard at Horseneck Beach in Westport.

In the coming days, lifeguards will likely have to restrict areas of the beach and limit how deep they let swimmers go. They advise patrons to stay near lifeguard towers, regardless of the conditions. If you do get stuck in a rip current, don’t panic.

"If it does catch you, you wait until it subsides a bit and then you’re going to swim parallel to shore and then in towards shore,” Guadagno said.