Rip Current — Southern Queens, New York

2019-10-01 · Southern Queens, New York

Event narrative

An initial report of three missing teens came in at 3:32 p.m. on Tuesday. The boys were unaccounted for after wading into the water near Beach 96th Street and Shore Front Parkway in Queens around 3:30 p.m, police said. When rescue crews arrived, they found one of the teenagers, a 15-year-old boy, had been rescued by a good Samaritan, the police said. A witness said the rescuer was a surfer.

That boy told officers that his friends, one 15, the other 16, were still in the water. No lifeguards have been on duty there since the end of beach season in September.

The police, Fire Department divers and the Coast Guard began a rescue operation, with the latter sending crews from stations in Jones Beach and Sandy Hook. Police boats cruised slowly along the surf as the sun descended. But by evening, the operation had shifted to recovery, with officers searching for swimmers presumed drowned.

Wider weather episode

Energetic swells from Hurricane Lorenzo resulted in high surf and dangerous rip current conditions on October 1st.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 848560. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.