Beach Hazards Today

Summer is in full swing and with a few days touching the 80s many folks, like myself, are flocking down to the nearest beach. While today is cooler, the sun is plentiful which means people can still catch a few rays. The issue, however, is that brisk northeast winds leading to dangerous swim conditions. The National Weather Service maintains a \"Beach Hazards Alert\" for all beaches from Ozaukee county and points south in the Chicago land area until 7pm this evening. The hazards are three-fold with rough surf, high waves and dangerous currents.

While most people have likely heard of \"Rip currents\" do you know what strong structural or longshore currents are? Longshore currents move parallel to the shore. These type of currents can be strong enough to prevent a person from keeping their feet on the bottom of the sand and thus making it difficult to stay balanced and or return to shore. Structural currents form along piers where longshore currents and wave action flow into the structure. These type of currents can sweep you out into deeper water along the pier structures.

The good news is that the wind is expected to ease into tonight and by the weekend temps will be back in the 80s again.

I'm meteorologist Rebecca Schuld