Citation

Liu Y, Wu CH. SSRN eLibrary 2022; e4000678.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Social Science Electronic Publishing)

DOI

10.2139/ssrn.4000678

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Flash rips are episodic bursts of water jetting offshore, which can lead to drowning incidents by taking swimmers off guard without warning. A hidden danger due to flash rips to beachgoers is not widely recognized. This study reveals hazards of flash rips by investigating a series of drowning incidents along coasts of Lake Michigan during a series of storm events over a 4-day period. Occurrences and causes of flash rips are depicted through webcam image observations, storm features of atmospheric disturbances, hydrodynamic circumstances of wind waves and meteorologically induced water level fluctuations, and model-reconstructed nearshore circulations. It is found that flash rip hazards occur more frequently under both small wind waves and low water level fluctuations, commonly perceived as safe to beachgoers. Furthermore, the timing delay of flash rip occurrences relative to the causative convective storms disguises the danger to unaware swimmers. Conditions featured with pleasant sunny or partly sunny weather and a clam water signature at the beach often attract bathers to enter the nearshore water with unexpected hidden flash rips, resulting in the highest drowning risks. An urgent need is called for communication, education, and prediction/forecast of hidden flash rips to the Laurentian Great Lakes and worldwide coastal communities.

Keywords: drowning, flash rips, convective storms, meteorologically induced water level 
fluctuations, Lake Michigan

Language: en