Morning storms create hazardous conditions at Narragansett Town Beach

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (WLNE) — Beachgoers didn’t hesitate to hit the beach Tuesday afternoon after severe thunderstorms blew through the Ocean State.

Lifeguards told ABC 6 News about how they help keep patrons safe after storms impact the area.

Harry Homans, a lifeguard Narragansett Town Beach said, “The biggest thing is awareness. Making sure our eyes are on the water, watching for rip currents, making sure swimmers are where they should or should not be. Just watching where the surf goes when the tide goes in or out. And just making sure the patrons are safe.”

The severe weather warning in Rhode Island on Tuesday put some residents out of power and roads flooded.

The aftermath however, was a beautiful beach day, but ocean conditions were not the safest as effects from the storms were still impacting the water.

“Obviously the storm is not always so pretty. They kind of bring a lot of wind and sometimes with the wind comes big waves which usually means little safety hazards for the patrons. We tend to keep an eye out for rip currents and anything that can put a patron in a dangerous situation,” said Yanis Benadouda, another lifeguard at Narragansett Town Beach.

Lifeguards further emphasized that the ocean is part of nature and gets rough with bad weather.

“The beach is beautiful and I want a lot of people to experience it. With that it is part of nature and when there is a storm and when people come here, they need to understand that we are not in control, even though it may look like it a lot of the time, we can’t do much about the ocean and what it can bring. Enjoy it but also respect it,” Benadouda explained.