Moving at speeds of up to eight feet per second, rip currents can move faster than an Olympic swimmer. Most rip currents begin along or on the shore. Undertow—Different than a Rip Current! All beaches have their own particular currents. Rip currents are associated more with the surf than they are the tides. Learn how to avoid and survive these mysterious ocean rips. Rip currents are powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water that are prevalent along the East, Gulf, and West coasts of the U.S., as well as along the shores of the Great Lakes. NOAA Photo. Longshore currents can be very strong; they can transport sediments and people along the coast. These are created in part by waves meeting the shore obliquely. However, much of the general public, news media, and even dictionary definitions confuse and misidentify these potential hazards at surf beaches. How to Escape a Rip Current, Undertow, or Riptide Learn How to Recognize and Avoid Ocean Rip Currents, and Swim Safely This Summer. Generally, the higher the waves become the more substantial the rip currents will be. Undertow and rip currents are separate phenomena and neither will pull a person under the water! Rip Currents vs. Undertow 563 8.0 6.0 4.0 < 4 2.0 o 0.0 - E-2.0-4.0-6.0-8.0-10.0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 shore normal distance, m Figure 1. I understand a rip current to be a current moving on the surface of the water away from shore vs. an undertow which is the samething but instead of the outgoing current being on the surface of the water it is underneath. But I could be wrong _____ Wind Waves—Waves generated by, and directly attributable to local winds, as opposed to swell waves, which have traveled over a considerable distance and produced by winds occurring at some previous time. 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