Hurricane Season Approaches

By Kami-Leigh Agard

As our summer season begins dwindling down, another season closes in on our coast: hurricane season.

In Rockaway, we’re no strangers to intense hurricanes and superstorms. The effects of Superstorm Sandy are weaved into our daily lives: new houses, rebuilt businesses, rock jetties, dunes, ongoing construction, concrete boardwalk, and more.

On a smaller scale, storms that form out in the ocean directly affect our beaches during the summer by bringing in large swells and creating dangerous ocean conditions (but also great waves for surfing). It looks like our first big storm swell of the season is on the way next week with Hurricane Erin.

As of now, Surfline predicts 4–5-foot waves Tuesday, and 5–8-foot waves Wednesday and Thursday, with up to 8–12-foot predictions in the early mornings and late evenings (but take it with a grain of salt, Surfline’s been off a lot recently). For context, waves are measured from the back, not the front face, so 6–8-foot waves are well overhead.

With a big swell incoming, rip currents are going to be ramping up. Bigger waves = stronger rip currents. This is because rip currents form as a way for the ocean to return the water that is pushed into shore by the waves back out to sea. So when there’s bigger waves, there’s more water to be carried out to sea, and it requires a stronger current to move it.

I feel like a broken record saying this, but rip currents are extremely dangerous and are the leading cause of drowning in the ocean. Proceed with extra caution swimming in large surf next week, especially if you are not a strong swimmer. Swim only when and where lifeguards are on duty. Stay close to shore and stay away from rock jetties.

In the past, when approaching storms have caused extreme ocean conditions, the beach      has been closed for the day, or days. Check the Parks website or sign up for Notify NYC to get real time updates on beach closures.

In addition to storm swells, we’ll soon be facing another challenge on the beach: as happens every year, many of our college-age lifeguards have already begun returning to school, meaning our numbers are dropping. Keeping that in mind, please only swim where and when lifeguards are on duty.

But, August blues aside, summer’s not over yet! A lot of our guards will still be on the beach and keeping our community and visitors safe until the Sunday after Labor Day. Get down to the beach while you still can!