Rip tide warning at local beaches ahead of Memorial Day Weekend

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — Memorial Day Weekend is upon us, and for a lot of people, that means grilling up some steaks and hotdogs and then heading down to the water for some fun in the sun.

At this time, there is a high rip current risk at our local beaches.

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According to First Alert Meteorologist Garrett Bedenbaugh, our waters are already in a high-risk category. He says that will carry through Saturday.

For our local beaches, particularly at Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach, there is a high-surf advisory with breakers of 6 to 9 feet starting Friday afternoon.

It was just last weekend when Action News Jax told you that Jacksonville Beach Ocean Rescue said they had 9 swimmers in distress and a total of 18 swimmers who had to be brought back to shore by lifeguards.

Read: Rough day for beach swimmers and lifeguards at Jax Beach

Ocean Rescue recommends that all beachgoers listen and heed all lifeguard warnings and all posted flags and signs. It stresses that you should never swim alone. Always swim in front of your group and near a lifeguard.

Finally, you have probably heard this advice before, but Ocean Rescue said that if you are caught in a rip current, don’t panic and swim parallel to the shore.

Read: Shooting investigation underway in Moncrief, JSO says

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