Hurricane Earl’s path predicted to bring rip tides to SC beaches

Bryn Eddy

The National Hurricane Center is currently tracking Hurricane Earl. Forecasters say its current path will miss Bermuda, but that Bermuda will still receive the harsh conditions.

The tropical storm may bring rough waters to the Carolina coasts this weekend.

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Rough waters include rip tides or rip currents. The National Hurricane Center calls these predicted rip currents “life-threatening.”

Hurricane Earl has been tracking farther west toward the East Coast than initially expected, but will still remain off shore as it passes southeast of Bermuda early Friday afternoon, forecasters say.
Hurricane Earl has been tracking farther west toward the East Coast than initially expected, but will still remain off shore as it passes southeast of Bermuda early Friday afternoon, forecasters say.

If caught in a rip tide, swim parallel to the shore. Know what to do should you ever get swept out to sea with these rough currents.

Earl’s current location said to be less than 1,000 miles from Newfoundland

At 11 a.m. Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center located Earl 955 miles south west of Newfoundland, a province of Canada.

The tropical storm warning in place for Bermuda has been discontinued.

“At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Earl was located near latitude 34.2 North, longitude 61.0 West. Earl is moving toward the northeast near 22 mph (35 km/h) and is forecast to accelerate further toward the northeast today. Earl is then forecast to slow down considerably Saturday night through Monday,” the National Hurricane Center released.

Earl will not hit the U.S., but will effect coastal waters with dangerous rip tide conditions.

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Carolinians may want to cancel their beach plans for this weekend, as Hurricane Earl will bring dangerous conditions for swimmers.

The likelihood of being swept out to sea is far greater than usual for this weekend. Rip currents, also known as rip tides, are predicted for Myrtle Beach area waters.

“Swells generated by Earl are affecting Bermuda and portions of the U.S. East Coast and are expected to reach Nova Scotia and Newfoundland tonight and on Saturday. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions through the weekend,” the National Hurricane Center released.

If caught in a rip tide, swim parallel to the shore. Know what to do should you ever get swept out to sea with these rough currents.

King tides are happening this weekend, too, but not likely in Myrtle Beach area waters

Mark Bacon, a forecaster at the National Weather Service in Wilmington, NC, said that king tide is a “loosely defined term.”

“Tides do get larger around the full moon and the new moon,” Bacon said. “These tides get a little bit bigger than the normal astronomical tide and those are usually called king tides.”

With a full moon coming on Sept. 10, the same time Earl is making its debut, king tides are expected to coincide with the rip tides Earl is bringing to the east coast.

Bacon said that Myrtle Beach waters are mostly shielded from king tides, but that the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which stick out further into the ocean, are more susceptible to king tides. So, that coastal area will be impacted by both king tides and Earl’s rip tides at the same time.

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