Rip currents and lightning present dangers to Baldwin County beachgoers this week

By Hal Scheurich

Click here for updates on this story

    GULF SHORES, Alabama (WALA) — After nearly two weeks of calm surf conditions at Baldwin County beaches, red flags were back out Tuesday, July 12, 2022 thanks to a low-pressure system sitting off the northern gulf coast. Increased risk of rip currents wasn’t the only danger at the beach.

Thunderstorms persisted for much of the day. The sands on Gulf Shores beached were bathed in sunshine through mid-afternoon, even as dark storm clouds loomed just inland. Beachgoers at Gulf Place in Gulf Shores were in the clear for most of the day, but lightning got close enough to call lifeguards off the beach for a while. For the most part, visitors weren’t bothered by the threat, but some weren’t taking any chances.

“I think just from being from the Midwest, you know we take storms pretty seriously there I guess, and we didn’t want to get struck by lightning because I saw a couple bolts over there, so yeah. We decided to leave but we’ll be back later,” said Preslee Lama from Illinois as she and her friends toted their gear back to the parking lot.

While lightning is a huge concern on the open beach, stronger rip currents have kept lifeguards busy. Orange Beach reported seven calls for swimmers in distress Monday. Two resulted in water rescues. Gulf Shores also had callouts and had to send one swimmer to the hospital. The afternoons are proving more treacherous with low tide.

“Anytime you have an outgoing tide or low tide, that’s when rip currents are going to pull the most…the hardest because there’s less water in the shallower depths,” explained Gulf Shores Beach Safety Chief, Joethan Phillips.

Lifeguards expect the surf to build higher by midweek, increasing the dangers. Even though red flags were posted Tuesday, the water was inviting, and many went for a swim.

“We weren’t really like in the water a whole lot,” said McKenzie Williams from Tennessee. “I mean, we were in a few times to catch some of the like, waves going in.”

As the surf builds, the rip current dangers will increase. Neither Gulf Shores nor Orange Beach had any calls Tuesday for swimmers in distress.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.