Parks Canada is advising that surf conditions Friday in Prince Edward Island National Park are considered dangerous.
Rip currents may be formed along the shores due to high winds and resulting surf conditions. To ensure visitor safety, entering the water is not recommended in these conditions and visitors are asked to follow surfguard instructions.
Rip currents are a hazard on P.E.I. beaches and form when waves break near the shoreline, piling up water between the breaking waves and the beach. One of the ways this water returns to sea is to form a rip current, a narrow stream of water moving swiftly away from shore.
The danger is when swimmers become trapped in the rapid current and are swept offshore. Swimmers are advised not to panic if they get caught in a rip current, but to relax and swim parallel to shore to get out of the current; then swim back to shore.
For more information, contact Parks Canada at: (902) 672-6350 or visit the website at parkscanada.ca/pei. Follow Parks Canada on Facebook at facebook.com/PEInationalpark and Twitter at: twitter.com/ParksCanadaPEI .
