HomeEducationCurrents

# Rip Currents

## Currents Tutorial

**Click the image **

----

As longshore currents move on and off the beach, “rip currents” may  form around low spots or breaks in sandbars, and also near structures  such as jetties and piers. A rip current, sometimes incorrectly called  a rip tide, is a localized current that flows away from the shoreline  toward the ocean, perpendicular or at an acute angle to the shoreline.  It usually breaks up not far from shore and is generally not more than  25 meters (80 feet) wide.

Rip currents typically reach speeds of 1 to 2 feet per second. However,  some rip currents have been measured at 8 feet per second—faster than  any Olympic swimmer ever recorded (NOAA, 2005b). If wave activity is  slight, several low rip currents can form, in various sizes and  velocities. But in heavier wave action, fewer, more concentrated rip  currents can form.

Because rip currents move perpendicular to shore and can be very  strong, beach swimmers need to be careful. A person caught in a rip can  be swept away from shore very quickly. The best way to escape a rip  current is by swimming parallel to the shore instead of towards it,  since most rip currents are less than 80 feet wide. A swimmer can also  let the current carry him or her out to sea until the force weakens,  because rip currents stay close to shore and usually dissipate just  beyond the line of breaking waves. Occasionally, however, a rip current  can push someone hundreds of yards offshore. The most important thing  to remember if you are ever caught in a rip current is not to panic.  Continue to breathe, try to keep your head above water, and don’t  exhaust yourself fighting against the force of the current.

### Currents Lessons

              - Welcome
              - Tidal Currents 1
              - Tidal Currents 2
              Coastal Currents
              - Waves
              - Longshore Currents
              - Rip Currents
              - Upwelling
              Surface Ocean Currents
              - The Coriolis Effect
              - Surface Ocean Currents
              - Boundary Currents
              - The Ekman Spiral
              The Global Conveyor Belt
              - Thermohaline Circulation
              - The Global Conveyor Belt
              - Effects of Climate Change
              How Are Currents Measured?
              - Age of Exploration
              - What is a "knot"?
              - Shallow Water Drifter
              - Deep Ocean Drifter
              - Current Profiler
              - Shore-based Current Meters
              - How Currents Affect Our Lives?
              - References
              - Roadmap to Resources
              - Subject Review

###### **Search** Education

###### Get **Social**

Contact Us

            - Provide Feedback 
            -  Contact Us 
            -  Report an error 

##### Science. Service.Stewardship.

###### 						About NOS 					

            - About Us
            - NOS Program Offices
            - Media Inquiries
            - Website Acknowledgements

###### 						Resources 					

            - Site Index
            - Disclaimer
            - Freedom of Information Act
            - Accessibility

###### 						More Resources 					

            - Information Quality
            - Privacy Policy
            - NOS For Employees
            - USA.gov

          -  National Ocean Service
          -  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
          -  Department of Commerce

##### 						Social 					

            - 
            - 
            - 
            - 
            -