Rip Currents: A Hurricane Hazard Hundreds of Miles Away

A hurricane doesn't have to make landfall — or even come close — to kill you at the beach. Distant storms drive rip currents that drown about 100 people a year in the U.S. Here's what a rip current is and exactly how to survive one.

A storm doesn't have to come near you to kill you at the beach. Distant hurricanes send out swell that fuels rip currents — powerful, narrow channels of water rushing away from shore — on beaches hundreds of miles from the storm, often under a clear blue sky.

A bigger killer than you'd think

Rip currents drown about 100 people a year in the United States — more than tornadoes or lightning — and account for most surf-zone rescues. When a hurricane is churning offshore, the danger spikes along the whole coastline in its path, even where the weather is beautiful and the storm is days away or will never make landfall.

What a rip current actually is

As waves pile water onto the beach, that water has to flow back out. It finds a low spot or a gap in a sandbar and rushes seaward in a concentrated channel. A rip current won't pull you under — it pulls you out, fast, sometimes faster than an Olympic swimmer. People drown not from the current itself but from panicking and exhausting themselves trying to swim straight back against it.

How to survive one

Don't fight it. You can't out-swim a rip back to the beach — stay calm and conserve energy.
Swim parallel to shore to get out of the narrow channel, then angle back in once you're clear.
If you can't escape, float. Tread water or float and wave for help; many rips weaken or curl back toward shore.
If someone else is caught, don't swim out alone after them — get a lifeguard, or throw something that floats and call 911. Would-be rescuers are a large share of rip-current deaths.

Before you go

Check the beach forecast and surf-zone warnings (NWS issues a Rip Current Statement), watch for posted warning flags, and swim near a lifeguard. When a hurricane is anywhere in the basin, treat “high rip current risk” as the serious warning it is — the water can be deadly even when the sky is not.

Bottom line

Hurricanes kill at the beach long before — or without ever — making landfall. If you're caught in a rip, don't fight it: stay calm, swim parallel, float, and signal. And never go in after someone alone.