Florida Residents Told to Not Go Into the Ocean

National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists are warning Florida residents against venturing into the ocean on both sides of the state peninsula as storm systems make the waters dangerous.
The Atlantic hurricane season has rapidly ramped up over the past month, with Hurricane Helene making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on September 26 as a Category 4 hurricane. Hurricane Kirk and Tropical Storm Leslie have since formed in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of the U.S., and meteorologists are monitoring a disturbance that has a chance of strengthening into a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico.
All three weather systems will cause dangerous ocean conditions like rip currents along the state’s coastlines.
Rip currents can be caused by hurricanes or tropical storms that cause disturbances in the ocean, and they can impact a beach even if a tropical storm is hundreds of miles away, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned. Rip currents from the brewing storm systems in the Gulf and the Atlantic will create dangerous swimming conditions, even as larger waves attract people to the beach.
Florida NWS offices in Melbourne and Miami issued hazardous weather outlooks on Friday morning.
“A high risk of life-threatening rip currents exists at all central Florida Atlantic beaches. Entering the water is highly discouraged,” the Melbourne office warned. Miami-based meteorologists issued their outlook for Atlantic coastal waters, southeast Florida, southern Florida, southwest Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.
“There is a high risk for rip currents along the Palm beaches today and a moderate risk of rip currents along the remainder of the east coast beaches,” the Miami warning said. “The risk for rip currents will remain elevated for the Atlantic beaches this weekend into early next week as onshore flow persists and northerly swell builds in.”
NWS meteorologist Sam Hadi told Newsweek that the rip currents will likely pose a risk for the Miami area from Friday through at least next Tuesday.
Rip currents can become fatal, even if the storms don’t make landfall in the U.S.
“Rip currents have been the number one weather-related killer in east-central Florida and along the Eastern Seaboard,” NWS Warning Coordination meteorologist Will Ulrich previously told Newsweek. “Even distant hurricanes can become hazardous.”
In addition to the rip currents, much of Florida is expecting high rainfall this weekend as the Gulf disturbance ushers in moisture. Some parts of Florida, such as the Cape Coral area, could see widespread rainfall of up to 12 inches. Flooding and heavy rain associated with the storms could hinder ongoing Hurricane Helene relief efforts.