What’s the difference between rip currents, rip tides and undertows?
Rip currents, rip tides and undertows are often misunderstood, leading to injuries and lost lives.
Surviving a rip current
Lucas Bocanegra, Miami Beach Ocean Rescue Lieutenant, urges swimmers to go to beaches with lifeguards, abide by warning signs and move parallel to the shore if caught.
If you’re heading to the beach this summer to enjoy the sand and surf, be sure to know the difference between rip currents, rip tides and undercurrents to make sure you have a safe beach experience.
Rip currents alone take an average of 100 lives every year, according to NOAA, so it is important to understand what they, rip tides and undercurrents are and how you can stay safe should you come upon them.
What is a rip current?
A rip current is a powerful, narrow ribbon of current that flows away from the shore in a perpendicular or sharp angle.
It forms when waves crashing onto shore push enough water away from the shore in one direction that the waters coalesce to create a current.
How rip currents form. Note the direction of the water flowing from waves crashing onto shore. (NOAA / NOAA)
Rip currents typically form in waters that are 10 feet deep or less. They are usually 25 yards wide or less, but can flow for hundreds of yards away from shore, NOAA said.
They reach speeds of 1 to 2 feet per second on average, but can reach speeds of up to 8 feet per second – or faster than any Olympic swimmer on record. This speed is what allows rip currents to quickly pull in swimmers and drag them away from shore.
Should you find yourself stuck in a rip current, escape by swimming parallel to the shore instead of directly toward it. Because of the speed and power of rip currents, you can easily grow tired trying to swim against the current, putting yourself in danger of drowning.
FILE: Rip current flag. (JAYDEE LEE SERRANO / AFP / Getty Images)
Another option is to let the rip current carry you away from shore until it dies down. At that point, you can swim back to shore at an angle away from the rip current.
No matter how you try to escape a rip current, NOAA officials noted the importance of staying calm, continuing to breathe and trying to keep your head above water.
What are rip tides?
Other hazards for swimmers include rip tides. Despite being mistakenly referred to as rip currents, rip tides are a different kind of danger.
Unlike rip currents, which form from waves breaking onto shore, rip tides are currents that form when the tide pulls water through an inlet along a barrier beach, according to the Eastern Long Island Coastal Conservation Alliance (ELICCA).
FILE: A seascape of a danger banner telling swimmers not to enter the water due to rough seas. (Richard Baker / In Pictures / Getty Images)
While tides typically move from shore slowly, they can move quickly when the tidewater has to move through a narrow passage on a barrier beach. The constricted passageway essentially creates a funnel where the tidewater rushes through.
Because of their association with tides, rip tides are sometimes referred to as tidal currents.
Rip tides form in waters that are tens of feet deep, and they can extend thousands of feet away from shore in some areas.
The ELICCA said the best way to escape a rip tide is to wave for help and try to attract the attention of nearby boaters or fishermen.
What is an undertow?
In addition to rip tides and rip currents, beachgoers must also beware of undertows.
An undertow is a current that flows into the depths of the water. It forms when large waves crash onto shore and push water up the beach face. The water is then pulled back down the beach face, flowing back toward the sea and into the next wave, ELICCA officials said.
FILE - A couple walks through the rain on Cocoa Beach on September 28, 2022. (Getty Images)
Undertows form where the water is only a few inches to several feet deep, and they can extend tens of feet from the shore.
Because of the powerful, downward flow of undertows, swimmers that become caught in one feel that they are being dragged underwater and then pummeled by large waves.
If you find yourself in an undertow, find a time between the waves to make your way back up the beach face.