Understanding beach flags; Staying safe from rip currents

AccuWeather

American Lifeguard Association's Wyatt Werneth joins the AccuWeather Network to explain the beach flag system and what each colored flag means. He also explains the dangers of rip currents.

Transcript

00:00For those who may not be familiar, what is the beach flag safety system and how should visitors

00:06use it before entering the water? Hey, good morning, Bernie and Ariella. It's a fine accuweather day

00:13out here. That's a great question. It's much like a traffic signal. We kind of mirrored that

00:19with a red, yellow, and green. It is green means it's a low hazard, yellow means use caution,

00:25red is a higher hazard, and a double red means don't go at all. And then if you have a blue flag,

00:31we add marine life like sharks and stuff like that. Absolutely. All right. So what are the

00:35biggest mistakes you see beachgoers make when it comes to water safety? Well, it's important to

00:43go down a checklist. The first one we put out there is learn to swim, America. Your ability to swim can

00:48save your life. The next one is know before you go. Check the internet, check the accuweather for

00:53the weather, find out where there's lifeguards at, swim in front of a lifeguard. Your chances of

00:57drowning in front of a lifeguard are one in 18 million. And then when you get to the beach,

01:01you can use identifiers. Everywhere there's a dip, there's a rip. And in that, if you do just

01:06get caught in a rip current, remember the rip. Rip means relax, indicate that you need help. And

01:12someone on the beach might have a station like we have behind us, a drown zero station. It's flotation,

01:17they can get out to you. And P, try to swim parallel. So it's very important to kind of go down that

01:21checklist, as well as assign a water watch to look out for the people who may not swim

01:25in your group. And how can swimmers and surfers spot dangerous surf or changing conditions before

01:33lifeguards post new flags? And how deep can you go into the water and still be safe from rip currents?

01:43Well, part one of that, like I said, you can kind of check the area by the, everywhere there's a dip,

01:48there's a rip. You've been in a location where you're sitting there and your stuff gets wet and

01:52the people on both sides of you are dry. You're in the rip. Don't go in. The next part of that is

01:57know your limitations. If it looks threatening, when in doubt, don't go out. Just sit back and enjoy

02:02the beauty. So we say stay out of the water, depending on your limitation, your swimming ability,

02:08and don't push your limits. What steps can families take to keep children safe when waves

02:14are stronger than usual? Well, that goes back to the assign a water watcher and put people or your

02:21anyone, adults or children that don't swim very well, put them in a Coast Guard approved life jacket.

02:26But the water watcher is critical. The water watcher is someone in your group. It's kind of like a group

02:31lifeguard. And you can even give them a whistle or a tag. And if it's a large group, you guys assign

02:37multiple people with no distractions. And you can take turns. So it's paramount to keep your eye on the

02:41little ones or those who don't swim. All right. And one last question. I know you mentioned this

02:48again, but can you explain how rip currents can form? How do they form? You already explained how

02:56to escape them, but how do they form? Well, you know, that takes years and years to understand

03:02completely, but there are different kinds of currents. There's permanent rips by jetties and

03:07inlets. There's a transient rips that we get a lot as the bottoms change and the winds and the waves

03:12react. But what the most important thing to remember is it's just a current that's pulling

03:18away from the shoreline. It does not take you under. I've been getting a lot of that lately. It does not

03:23take you under. And again, if you're in that rip, you can not, if you don't panic, you're just getting

03:27a little ride. And if you know how to swim very well and apply some of the checklists that I mentioned,

03:32you know, the most important thing is, you know, adhere to any of the warnings. We have been doing a

03:36wonderful job here in America with your outlet and the media trying to tell people that there

03:40are rip currents, that they're coming because they are predictable and drowning is preventable as

03:46well. Wyatt, we're a spokesperson for the American Lifeguard Association. We always appreciate your

03:51expertise and the beautiful blue sky. You're bringing us there in Cocoa Beach, Florida and what

03:55you're doing to keep everyone safe. Always swim near a lifeguard. Yes, always. By the way, it is official.

04:01Hurricane Center has sent out the update a little early. Aaron is now the first hurricane of the

04:082025 Atlantic season. All right.

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