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Types of Rip Currents

A rip current is an ocean current that draws water, sediment and anything trapped in it out to sea. Sometimes rip currents may take you 10 meters offshore and other times you could get trapped 100 meters offshore. They are fast moving and people who get caught in them may not even have time to realize it. That is why you should be prepared before heading out to the beach. Know what to look for and how they form.

Permanent
- Structures like jetties are common places for permanent rip currents to form.
  
  A permanent rip current is a current that forms as a result of permanent landforms. This is a stationary current that draws seaward all year long. According to the National Weather Service, permanent rip currents form around structures like jetties, groins, large drainage outflows and even fishing piers. Beware of these types of rip currents. They can strengthen and weaken with the flow of the tide and the changing seasons.
Fixed
- A fixed rip current occurs on beaches that have no man-made structures. They will likely form where there is a sudden drop in ocean floor depth. A deep channel between two shallow sandbars is a likely place for this type of rip current to occur. They will always recur in that general area. Even if a fixed rip current disappears for a moment, do not think it is safe to enter the water. These currents are subject to change along with the shape of the beach. A large storm or man-made beach installations may change the pattern of a fixed rip current.
Flash
- Flash rip currents are exactly as they sound: sudden, short-lived rip currents. Unrest in the distant seas such as waves caused by a distant hurricane or periods of heavy surf will form flash rip currents. A beach with heavier volumes of wave energy than normal is at risk of developing a flash rip current. Anytime there is an increase in the volume of water on a beach and then a sudden drawback of that water, you will see flash rip currents. Mega-rips, according to RipCurrents.com, are very large flash currents that form during extreme waves of over 3 meters in height. Mega-rips may extend up to 100 meters offshore, whereas an average flash rip current would extend about 10 meters offshore.
Traveling
- If you are caught in a rip current, try to swim parallel to the beach until you are out of the current.
  
  Like the flash currents, traveling rip currents are as they appear. These rip currents can move up and down a beach with the help of wave activity. The National Weather Service says that strong persistent swells cause traveling rip currents. As they persistently hit the beach, the current is moved down the beach with each swell. Once the waves begin to focus on one general area, traveling rip currents will disappear. That does not mean the danger is over, however, for new rip currents are usually forming, so always be watching.

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