According to the East Central Florida Rip Current Program, this is more deaths than caused by lightning, tornadoes and hurricanes combined. Moving at the swiftness of three feet per second, rip currents are strong enough to pull waders out into the Gulf. What a rip tide is, is a depression or valley in the bottom of the sea. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, a rip current is formed when wave action creates a path through a sandbar. This creates pressure directed seaward.
Rip currents are also common around piers and natural reefs.
But there are signs to look for.