File:Rip_current_warning_signs_at_Mission_Beach.JPG · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
rip current
Sign in to saveAlso known as rip, rip tide
narrow current of water which moves directly away from the shore, cutting through the lines of breaking waves
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Signs explaining how to escape from a rip current, posted at Mission Beach, San Diego, California As seen from above, this shows how a rip current works. Breaking waves cross a sand bar off the shore. The pushed-in water can most easily travel back out to sea through a gap in the sand bar. This flow creates a fast-moving rip current.
A rip current (or just rip) is a specific type of water current that can occur near beaches where waves break. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water that moves directly away from the shore, cutting through the lines of breaking waves, like a river flowing out to sea. The force of the current in a rip is strongest and fastest next to the surface of the water.