Hurricane Lee is passing hundreds of miles away from the Outer Banks, but still causing dangerous waves and rip currents. Here's what officials say you should do to stay safe.
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00:00 really sad news here because look.
00:02 With this type of storm,
00:03 we are looking for really rough
00:04 surf and rip currents and rip
00:06 currents folks are serious and
00:07 they can be deadly.
00:08 Three people actually died this
00:10 week in North Carolina's Outer Banks.
00:12 Two of them at Cape Hatteras
00:14 National Seashore.
00:14 David Halleck,
00:15 Superintendent at Cape Hatteras,
00:16 joins us now.
00:17 David,
00:17 thank you so much for joining us.
00:20 I'm sure you're quite busy this
00:21 morning as the storm climbs north.
00:23 Yeah, good morning.
00:26 It's a pleasure to be with you.
00:27 Yeah, of course.
00:28 Hurricane Lee is turning off the shore,
00:31 but can you talk to us about the
00:33 impacts that you felt along the
00:34 Outer Banks and Cape Hatteras in
00:36 particular considering you know,
00:37 it's not a direct landfall,
00:38 but we're still having some problems here.
00:41 Yeah, definitely.
00:43 It looks like the track of the storm
00:45 will go about 4 to 500 miles off
00:48 the coast of Cape Hatteras.
00:50 That being said, it's a large storm
00:52 and it's generating large waves.
00:54 Those waves propagate towards the shore,
00:58 and so even over the last 24 hours
01:00 we've really seen the seas build
01:02 and part of the issue associated
01:04 with these long these waves is that
01:07 they're called long period waves.
01:10 They have a long wavelength and
01:11 they have a lot of power so they
01:14 can cause beach erosion.
01:15 They cause very rough surf and very rough
01:17 seas and as you mentioned they can
01:20 cause rip currents right now.
01:22 Everybody should stay out of the ocean.
01:23 It's not safe for swimming and really
01:26 wait until the conditions subside
01:28 either later this weekend or early
01:30 next week before even considering
01:31 getting in the water. And you
01:33 know what, David?
01:34 This might be something that's
01:36 somewhat familiar to folks who
01:37 live in the Outer Banks,
01:38 but obviously there are a lot of tourists.
01:40 Lot of visitors in this area every year.
01:43 Any messages for folks who maybe
01:44 are on their way to the Outer Banks
01:46 or who are visiting right now?
01:48 Maybe who haven't had this type of
01:50 condition to deal with at the beach.
01:52 Absolutely, the good news is there
01:55 are plenty of things to do when it's
01:57 not safe for swimming in the Atlantic Ocean,
02:00 so I'm sure our visitors will have a great
02:02 time over the coming days and weeks.
02:04 That being said,
02:05 the take home message is to love
02:07 the beach but respect the ocean.
02:08 And as a matter of fact,
02:10 we have a website that we've set up
02:12 with Deer County where you can get
02:14 great information about ocean safety.
02:16 The first thing that any visitor should
02:18 do before they go to the beach and
02:20 perhaps before they even come to the
02:22 Outer Banks is to know before you go.
02:24 That to check out the love the beach,
02:26 respect the ocean website,
02:28 find out what the ocean conditions are like.
02:30 Every morning there is an update on
02:32 the swell size, the rough conditions,
02:34 the risk of rip currents that can help
02:37 visitors make an informed decision about
02:39 whether or not they should get in the ocean.
02:42 Secondly, it's always safest to
02:44 swim at a life guarded beach.
02:47 Next, if you decide to swim in an area
02:49 where the rip current risk is low,
02:52 it's still never completely safe
02:53 to swim in the ocean and there are risks.
02:56 We recommend that you swim with a partner
02:58 that you have somebody on the beach
03:00 that's watching you with a cell phone
03:02 so that they can make a call if you
03:04 get into trouble and that you have
03:06 flotation with you that could be
03:08 personal flotation device,
03:09 a body board or surfboard that's
03:10 connected to you to release.
03:12 These are the types of things that
03:14 can help keep yourself safe if
03:16 you choose to go in the ocean.
03:18 Such great advice this morning
03:19 for anyone heading out that way.
03:21 David Halleck,
03:21 Superintendent at the Cape Hatteras
03:23 National Seashore.
03:23 Thank you so much for joining us
03:25 this morning and have a safe weekend.
03:27 My pleasure, thank you.