Crowds return to Rehoboth Beach sand
The beaches are breezy but the ocean is rough Sept. 4, with red flag conditions in Rehoboth Beach warning people it is not safe to swim. On Sept. 3, beach patrol cleared the sand completely due to extreme high tides, and continued rough surf and dangerous rip tides from offshore post-tropical storm Hermine have caused patrols to keep people out of the water.
In Dewey Beach, beaches have remained open, but there will be no swimming.
“These are very, very serious surf conditions,” said Dewey Beach Patrol Capt. Todd Frichtman. He said the surf is too dangerous for rescue responses, and the wave energy impact is too intense for people to enter without getting injured. Strong rip tides also are occurring frequently along the coast.
About 10 a.m. Sept. 4, just before the morning high tide in Dewey Beach, the beach began to flood, Frichtman said. And storm surge has already done some serious damage.
“Our beach is completely eroded away to the front of the dune,” Frichtman said. “High tide brings water to the toe of the dune line.”
While Rehoboth and Dewey are closed to swimming, Frichtman reiterated that whenever visitors get to the ocean, they should check on current conditions with the lifeguard on duty and should always swim in front of a manned lifeguard stand.
