Rip Currents: How to Spot One and How to Escape

A rip current is a narrow, fast channel of water that flows away from the beach. If one catches you, relax and float, don't fight it, and swim out of it along the shoreline before you angle back to shore.

Rip currents are the biggest danger at most surf beaches, but they are also something you can learn to spot and escape. This guide uses the words of the National Weather Service (NWS) and NOAA, the federal agencies that study and forecast them.

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What a rip current is

NOAA describes rip currents as powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water (opens in a new tab) found along the East, Gulf and West coasts and the Great Lakes. The NWS calls them "rivers of the sea" and says they are found on almost any beach with breaking waves (opens in a new tab).

Here is what makes them dangerous:

• They are fast. The NWS says channel rip currents usually flow about 1 to 2 feet per second and may reach speeds up to 8 feet per second (opens in a new tab). NOAA says that can be faster than an Olympic swimmer (opens in a new tab).
• They surge. When a set of bigger waves breaks, the NWS says the speed of the flow can more than double (opens in a new tab) for 30 seconds to a minute. Waders can lose their footing and get carried out. These "rip pulses" are often how people get into trouble.
• They form near structures. The NWS says rip currents commonly form around breaks in sandbars and near inlets, jetties and piers (opens in a new tab), where they are more intense. Learn more in why swimming near jetties and piers is risky.

Rip currents pull you out, not under

This is the most important fact to remember. The NWS says plainly: rip currents pull you away from the shore, they don't pull you under the water (opens in a new tab). The feeling of being dragged down usually comes from a combination of panic, exhaustion, and being hit by breaking waves (opens in a new tab).

Two terms cause confusion:

• Rip tide is not the same thing. NOAA says a rip tide is a specific type of current associated with the swift movement of tidal water through inlets (opens in a new tab) and the mouths of bays and harbors.
• Undertow is a slower flow near the bottom. The NWS says undertow and rip currents are separate phenomena and neither will pull a person under the water (opens in a new tab).

How to spot one from the sand

Rip currents can be hard to see, especially for visitors. The NWS Tallahassee office lists three signs:

• Color: the water is often darker in a rip current (opens in a new tab).
• Texture: rip currents are often found where waves are not breaking. A flat gap between breaking waves can be a rip current flowing out to sea.
• Movement: look for a line of foam, seaweed, or debris moving away from the beach (opens in a new tab).

The NWS rip current scientists add some practical tips:

• Look from up high, such as a dune, a beach access or a boardwalk. The NWS says it is much easier to spot rip currents from an elevated position (opens in a new tab).
• Watch the water for several minutes, because conditions change.
• Look for narrow strips of choppy, rippled water heading out, or plumes of sand offshore of the breakers.
• Wear polarized sunglasses. Deep rip channels stand out as darker water.
• Ask a lifeguard. The NWS suggests you ask a lifeguard if there are any rip currents and to point them out for you (opens in a new tab).

Not every rip current shows these signs. The NWS says some "flash" rip currents last for several minutes (opens in a new tab) and can form on straight, featureless beaches. If you can't tell, don't go in where you're unsure. The NWS puts it simply: if in doubt, don't go out (opens in a new tab).

If you're caught: relax, float, swim sideways, signal

The NWS gives five steps for anyone caught in a rip current:

1. Relax. Rip currents don't pull you under (opens in a new tab).
2. Don't swim against the current. NOAA warns that people who try to counter a rip current by swimming straight back to shore (opens in a new tab) put themselves at risk of drowning from tiredness.
3. Swim out of the current, then to shore. The NWS says to swim out of the current in a direction following the shoreline, or toward breaking waves, then at an angle towards the beach (opens in a new tab).
4. If you can't escape, float or tread water. Floating saves your energy. The NWS Tallahassee office says: not a skilled swimmer? Relax and flip on your back to float (opens in a new tab).
5. If you need help, yell or wave. Get the attention of lifeguards and people on shore.

A short way to remember it, from the NWS Tallahassee office: stay calm, wave, yell and float.

These steps work best if you have practiced floating and treading water before you need them. The NWS says learning how to swim is the best defense against drowning (opens in a new tab), and that a pool is not the same as a surf beach with crashing waves, wind and currents. Build the skills in water competency lessons first.

Rip currents form on calm days too

Nice weather can fool you. The NWS warns that rip currents often form on calm, sunny days (opens in a new tab), and that great beach weather does not always mean it is safe to swim, or even to play in the shallows.

Two more things the NWS wants beachgoers to know:

• Distant storms matter. Hurricanes that are far away can still create deadly rip currents and waves (opens in a new tab), even when the sky is clear where you are.
• Waves don't need to be huge. The NWS Tallahassee office says waves do not need to be huge for rip currents to form (opens in a new tab).

The tide matters too. On beaches with a tide range under 6 feet, the NWS says rip currents often flow faster about an hour or two on either side of low tide (opens in a new tab). Whether the tide is going out or coming in doesn't change their strength, only the water level does.

Check the forecast and talk to the lifeguard

Many NWS coastal offices issue a surf zone forecast that includes the rip current risk. Before you leave home:

• Check the NWS beach forecast (opens in a new tab). It shows the rip current risk for many beaches.
• Know the three risk levels. The NWS says a low risk still means life threatening rip currents often occur in the vicinity of groins, jetties, reefs, and piers (opens in a new tab). Moderate means they are possible. High means life threatening rip currents are likely in the surf zone (opens in a new tab). On a high-risk day, stay out of the water.
• Read the flags and signs. See what each beach warning flag means.

When you arrive, the NWS says to ask the lifeguard about rip currents and other potentially dangerous water conditions (opens in a new tab) expected that day. Then swim where they are watching. The NWS says to only swim at a beach with lifeguards (opens in a new tab). Read why swimming near a lifeguard matters.

The Red Cross adds one more rule: stay at least 100 feet away from piers and jetties (opens in a new tab), because permanent rip currents often exist near them.

If someone else is caught

Never swim out to save someone without something that floats. The NWS says many people have died trying to rescue someone caught in a rip current (opens in a new tab). Get a lifeguard, call 911 if there isn't one, tell the person to swim along the shoreline, and throw them something that floats. The full steps are in how to help someone caught in a rip current.

What you can do today

1. Practice the escape with the Rip current trainer tool, and let kids try the Rip Current Escape game.
2. Print the Rip Current Safety for your beach bag, your fridge or your classroom.
3. Bookmark the NWS beach forecast (opens in a new tab) and check it the morning of every beach trip.
4. Plan to swim only at a guarded beach. If you live in or near New York City, see NYC beach safety for lifeguard hours and rules.
5. Practice floating in a pool this week, so "relax and float" feels natural if you ever need it.