Of course, the safest strategy is to avoid the currents altogether. Knowing when and where they usually form will help. Longshore currents are most likely when the wind and waves come onshore at an angle other than perpendicular to the shore, Keillor said. The current will then flow downwind along the shore. For example, if you're standing on shore facing the lake and the waves and wind are approaching from the right, the longshore current will probably flow to the left.
Rip currents form when a longshore current turns away from the shore toward the open lake.
They can also flow alongside large solid structures extending off shore. Swimmers, waders, wind surfers, divers, and fishers should stay away from the water alongside harbor breakwaters and jetties, long solid piers or groins, and large shoreline rock outcrops when the water is rough. Rip currents may also flow along underwater structures such as nearshore reefs and troughs in the nearshore lakebed. One sign of rip currents is a stretch of breaking waves whose heights are lower than the waves to either side. Other signs of rip currents are patches or lines of foam and debris, and discolored water moving away from shore.