Rip Current — Southern Nassau, New York

2015-08-01 to 2015-08-02 · Southern Nassau, New York

Event narrative

On Saturday, August 1, a young man from Brooklyn drowned when he was caught in a riptide in Long Beach. Two swimmers were spotted having a tough time in the water amid strong rip currents at around 6:30 p.m. near the Allegria Hotel.

One of the swimmers was rescued, but the other, 23-year-old Kashawn Carlos, went under. His body was located after an extensive search-and-rescue operation in which lifeguards formed a human chain in the water. Police say he had been submerged in the water for an hour.

Carlos was taken to South Nassau Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Officials say beachgoers had been warned of the rip currents as lifeguards went off-duty Saturday evening.

Wider weather episode

A persistent southwest flow ahead of an approaching cold front the last week of July resulted in building south swells and wind waves into Saturday August 1. NWS New York forecast a moderate rip current threat in the early morning of August 1, which was upgraded to a high risk for rip currents at 1240 pm that day based on marine and surf observations. Moderate to strong rip current activity was reported by lifeguards Saturday Afternoon into the Evening. This rip current activity unfortunately resulted in the loss of 2 lives on the Long Island beaches that afternoon and evening.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 600463. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.