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Tides & Taps: How to Read Beach Flags and Rip Current Risk
The wet season ends this week, and the ocean is changing with it. All summer the Atlantic off Palm Beach County mostly lay flat. Now the fronts start coming through, and the swell comes back with them. Last October 20, a local forecast on WFLX said a high risk of rip currents was continuing along the east coast in "lingering long-period swells," and urged even experienced swimmers to stay out of the water. This morning the National Weather Service in Miami put the rip current risk for coastal Palm Beach County at low, with surf of 1 to 2 feet. That can change within a day, so here is how to read the flags, the forecast and the water yourself.
The flag at the beach access
Florida changed its law in 2005 so that every public beach flying warning flags uses the same set. That law is section 380.276, Florida Statutes, and it says only flags developed by the state's Department of Environmental Protection may be displayed. DEP's Beach Warning Flag Program built them with the Florida Beach Patrol Chiefs Association and the U.S. Lifesaving Association. A yellow flag means the same thing in Jupiter as it does in Delray Beach.
The state's sign reads like this. Green is low hazard: calm conditions, exercise caution. Yellow is medium hazard: moderate surf and/or currents. Red is high hazard: high surf and/or strong currents. A red flag with a white no-swim symbol means the water is closed to the public. Purple means stinging marine life, like man o' war, jellyfish or stingrays. The bottom line of the sign matters most: "Absence of Flags Does Not Assure Safe Waters."
The forecast, before you leave the house
The flag tells you what the lifeguard sees right now. The forecast tells you whether the trip is worth taking. NWS Miami publishes a Surf Zone Forecast, and the zone to look for is Coastal Palm Beach. For today and tomorrow it lists rip current risk, surf height, thunderstorm potential, waterspout risk, winds, and tides at Lake Worth Pier. Today's issue also lists the UV index and the water temperature.
Read the rip current line first. The Weather Service defines the three levels plainly. High means life-threatening rip currents are likely in the surf zone. Moderate means they are possible. Low does not mean safe: even then, life-threatening rip currents often occur near groins, jetties, reefs and piers. On a low-risk day, keep away from the pier.
If a rip current catches you
NOAA's National Ocean Service describes a rip current as a powerful, channeled current moving at up to eight feet per second, faster than an Olympic swimmer. Its advice: don't fight it. Swim parallel to the shore, then swim back to land at an angle. A rip pulls you out, not under. If you can't swim out of it, float or tread water and yell or wave for help. From the beach, one sign to look for is a calmer, darker gap between areas of breaking waves. That smooth patch can look like the safest place to swim, and it can be the rip itself.
Why the lifeguard stand matters
Rip currents cause most ocean rescues. A 2019 study in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences used twenty years of U.S. Lifesaving Association data and found rip currents were the primary cause of 81.9 percent of rescues on surf beaches, and 75.3 percent on the East Coast. The Weather Service's rip current page quotes the USLA's figure that the chance of drowning at a beach with lifeguards is 1 in 18 million. Its advice is short: swim near a lifeguard, and ask them about conditions when you get there.
Thunder and the pier
The fall mullet run still has anglers lined up on the piers, so this one is for them. The Weather Service's beach hazards page says fishing is the leading cause of lightning deaths, with general beach activities second. Thunder is hard to hear over the surf. On the East Coast you are usually facing east while storms often come in from the west, behind you. Shelter means a car or a large, fully enclosed building, not a picnic pavilion.
Five things to do before your next beach day
- Check the Surf Zone Forecast before you load the car. Coastal Palm Beach zone, rip current line first.
- Swim in front of a staffed lifeguard stand, and ask the guard what they are watching that day.
- Read the flag at the access point, and remember that no flag does not mean safe water.
- Teach the kids two words: sideways, then float. Walk through the plan on dry sand before anyone swims.
- Hear thunder? Get off the pier and into the car. Keep an eye on the western sky, not just the water. Our guide to tide predictions covers the tide column.
After the beach
Save the beer for when you're out of the water and done driving. When you are, the Reef Room is the first building off the I-95 Atlantic Ave exit, at 1701 W. Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach. LocAle, our 3.7% ABV golden ale, is an easy pour after a long morning in the sun. Taproom hours are Mon 1–7, Tue–Thu 12–10, Fri–Sat 12–11 and Sun 12–8, and the week's lineup is on our events page.
Please drink responsibly.