When Will The Rip Currents Call It Quits in New Jersey?

When will the rip currents call it quits in New Jersey?

Over the last few days, the rip currents along the Jersey Shore have been causing injuries to multiple beachgoers.

Over the holiday weekend, there were several cases of swimmers having to be rescued from the severe rip currents and there were even fatal situations as well. As we come up to the last few weeks of warm weather in New Jersey before the start of fall, it’s important to stay safe while swimming in the Jersey Shore waters!

What to do if you’re stuck in a rip current?

If you find yourself in a riptide or rip current, there are a few ways to get yourself back to shore. Most people would panic and head straight for the beach, bit in a rip current, this is the last thing you want to do.

You have to remain calm in this situation and immediately get a lifeguard’s attention. Next, try to get yourself to float on your back. Swimming against a rip current will waste your energy and it is almost impossible to swim directly into the current.

The best way to get yourself out of the water is to swim parallel to the shore and then follow breaking waves back to shore at an angle. This way, you’ll be swimming away from the current and almost with it rather than against it according to oceantoday.noaa.gov. 

How long will rip currents last in New Jersey in 2023?

The riptides have been extremely strong over the past few days and there seems to be a bit more time of it left. Today there was a high rip current risk in effect until this evening along the Jersey Shore beaches according to the National Weather Service Surf Forecast. Tomorrow there is supposed to be a moderate risk for rip tides, so hopefully once the forecasts for the rest of the week are released, we’ll see a low rip current risk.

Be careful during your last few trips to the Jersey Shore beaches this year!