Erin to bring dangerous east coast rip current

AccuWeather

Although Hurricane Erin has been downgraded, dangerous waves and strong currents will continue to impact the East Coast. Beachgoers are urged to stay out of the water and follow local safety advisories, as conditions remain hazardous.

Transcript

00:00As you know, we are about 600 miles, give or take, to the north and west of Aaron.

00:05But as you can see over my shoulder here at the Cocoa Beach Pier, things are definitely picking up.

00:12And it's very fascinating to know the physics, if you will, behind these massive engines,

00:16these large hurricanes that will get nowhere near the state of Florida, this particular one,

00:21as you all have been telling us.

00:22But the impacts, although indirect, are still significant.

00:25So over my shoulder, again, the waves are definitely up.

00:29The surf is up.

00:31The ocean rescue officials here are urging folks to stay out of the water at least until Friday.

00:38Late yesterday afternoon, the ocean rescue folks told me that there was a surfer that actually suffered spinal injuries

00:46when he was out in the water yesterday.

00:49So that's just one incident of where very dangerous conditions have been ongoing here in Brevard County.

00:56And they're anticipating even more of that to be the case as we get into tomorrow.

01:01Now, we were at Jetty Park yesterday afternoon.

01:04Let's show you some of that video.

01:06Florida's central beach, the east coast of central Florida's beaches, those swells have been climbing fast.

01:13Those rip current conditions, as I mentioned, are considered possibly life-threatening.

01:17That, according to Brevard County Ocean Rescue, at least through Thursday.

01:22Wave heights are expected to peak by Wednesday night.

01:24Officials are also asking beachgoers to stay out of the water not only here in Brevard County

01:30but all along the Florida coast from pretty much Brevard County where I am all the way up into the Jacksonville area

01:36and, of course, along the Atlantic seaboard as Aaron parallels the Atlantic seaboard in the coming days.

01:42Especially when you want to stay out of those inlets or jetties where the rip currents are strongest.

01:47And remember, even calm-looking water can be deceiving.

01:50We talked to a surfer yesterday and here's what he had to say about the conditions.

01:56I've been watching the swell coming, watching, you know, the hurricane track.

01:59And we thought today was probably a good day to come out and do it.

02:02While it's still manageable before it starts walling up, you know, before it gets, you know, maybe too big.

02:08If it's double overhead, you know, and it's walling, I don't see a channel to paddle out, I'm not going to go surf that.

02:13You know, it's just not worth it, not fun.

02:15Now, several surfers this morning have been out in the water here, and, of course, in Cocoa Beach.

02:23This is one of seven lifeguarded areas.

02:28So if you want to come out here, we've seen people taking photos, you know, posting pictures on social media.

02:33You want to stick where the lifeguards are, of course, so they can keep an eye on you.

02:37But they are telling folks not to get in the water today.

02:40The boating conditions are really expected to be rough.

02:44And ironically, here in Cocoa Beach, just to the north of me, is Port Canaveral, one of the largest ports in the U.S., if not even the world.

02:52So major cruise ships come in.

02:54And out here, I saw four cruise ships come out of the port yesterday.

02:57The boats here, of course, know how to navigate around the swells, but you can't get around a 30- or 40-foot swell.

03:05So there's going to be some rough surf for folks that are headed out to the Bahamas.

03:09A lot of the cruise ships here go down to the Bahamas and some of the Caribbean islands.

03:13So we'll have to see how that all plays out.

03:15But becoming very hazardous with the seas through the middle part of this week.

03:19Conditions are expected to stay dangerous.

03:21And that rough surf, anywhere from 5 to 8 feet, the shore break here today and tomorrow, is expected between 4 and 6.

03:29And then climbing up to 5 to 8 during high tide.

03:32And then just offshore, the surf forecasters are predicting up to 11 to 14 feet seas.

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