Rip Current — Southern Nassau, New York

2020-07-09 · Southern Nassau, New York

Event narrative

A young man drowned and five of his friends had to be rescued from dangerous rip currents in the water off Long Beach Thursday around 7 p.m. The group of six young adults went swimming in the waters off Long Beach and soon had to be rescued by nearby good Samaritans. Lifeguards and surfers in the area rushed to save the group, authorities said.

They were able to pull all six people out of the water, but a 19-year-old from Queens was in cardiac arrest and later died, police said.

According to authorities, the five other swimmers were treated on the scene and released.

Officials said the current was strong near the jetty due to approaching Tropical Storm Fay.

Wider weather episode

Building swells and wind waves ahead of Tropical Storm Fay resulted in increasingly dangerous rip current activity Thursday July 9th into Friday July 10th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 914537. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.