CHARLESTON, S.C. — Anyone headed into the ocean in Charleston County on Monday faces dangerous surf. The National Weather Service office in Charleston updated its rip current statement at 2:15 a.m., and the warning holds until 8 p.m.
The alert reaches beyond Charleston County to Beaufort County and the coastal parts of Colleton and Jasper counties, covering most of the South Carolina Lowcountry shoreline.
Forecasters warn that these fast channels of water running out from the beach can carry off strong swimmers too. A rip will drag a person out to sea but will not pull anyone under, so the key is staying calm and floating instead of fighting toward the sand.
Getting free usually means swimming sideways, parallel to the beach, until the pull eases. A swimmer who cannot break loose should turn toward land, tread water and yell or wave for help.
Federal forecasters also point out that a sunny, calm day can still produce rip currents. Their best advice is to swim where lifeguards are on duty: the odds of drowning at a guarded beach are about 1 in 18 million, according to the U.S. Lifesaving Association. Anyone going in where no guard is posted should bring a friend who carries a phone to call 911.
Filed under: Charleston SC Weather News