Beachgoers and surfers are advised to be cautious through the weekend with rough surf and rip currents heading to California’s coast prompting officials from the National Weather Service to issue a beach hazard statement.
The statement, issued Thursday morning, warns of waves ranging from 4-to-6 feet high, and possible 8-foot-waves from the Los Angeles County coast to San Luis Obispo County. Effects of the storm are expected to peak later in the weekend.
"The main concern besides rough surf is rip currents," NBC4 meteorologist David Biggar says. Adding this is an annual concern around this time of year when tropical storms brew.
Waves and rip currents at Southern California beaches are an expected result from Hurricane Dolores that is heading northwest from the south, a storm that developed last Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
On Sunday, a 28-year-old swimmer drowned at a beach in Malibu during a day in which 270 rescues were made by lifeguards in Los Angeles County, officials said.
Lifeguards at Zuma Beach Tower 9 say the man went missing after they saw him get caught in a rip current and go under the water about 50 feet offshore around 3:45 p.m., Los Angeles County Lifeguards Capt. Ken Haskett says.
Lifeguards pulled the man from the water just after 5 p.m., but were unable to revive him with CPR.
A swimmer caught in a rip current is advised to swim away from the current, as shown in the image below.
