Grumblenuts
Gold Member
- Oct 16, 2017
- 14,689
- 4,903
- 210
How to Escape Rip Currents | NOAA SciJinks – All About Weather
Wave, yell and swim parallel.
scijinks.gov
Rip current vs. undertow
Don’t confuse a rip current with an undertow. Rip currents are much more dangerous, because they flow on the surface of the water, can be very strong, and can extend some distance from the shore. An undertow can occur when water sinks back downhill into the sea after a wave has carried it uphill onto the beach. Unless the beach has a steep incline, the undertow will probably not be very powerful. However, if the tide is high, the wave is large, and the beach slopes sharply downhill toward the water, the undertow could be strong enough to knock you down, but it won’t carry you far—maybe just far enough to get smacked by the next big wave coming in.