Lifeguards and beach patrols from Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach are preparing for a busy weekend from the “hidden dangers” of rip currents that will emerge from Hurricane Beryl, churning in the warm Gulf waters hundreds of miles away.

Strong surf is expected along the Alabama and Florida Gulf Coasts starting Saturday as a result of the effects from a hurricane expected to make landfall Sunday in northeastern Mexico or southern Texas.

The situation is expected to create a repeat of dangerous surf conditions that existed at the Northern Gulf Coast’s beaches last month. Rip currents developed in mid-June from a tropical storm that followed a similar path as Beryl, and which was blamed for the deaths of three Birmingham-area men in Panama City Beach.

Single red flags are expected to be flown on Alabama and Florida beaches Saturday and likely into Sunday or Monday, though the conditions easily exist for double red flags at any point which would shut the Gulf waters to swimmers.

A single red flag warns visitors that dangerous water conditions exist in the Gulf but does not officially close the Gulf waters to swimmers. On Friday, the beaches had yellow flags flying that illustrate moderate surf.

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“This is going to be rip city out there in the Gulf with these types of waves,” said Stephen Leatherman, professor in the Department of Earth & Environment at Florida International University in Miami who goes by the moniker “Dr. Beach,” and who is a researcher in rip currents.

“I think everyone should stay out of the water, go to the pool or watch (the Gulf) from ashore,” he said. “When the storms are far away, and people think, ‘What’s the problem?’ that is the formula for a disaster. The rip currents will be very strong, and most people don’t know how to spot them.”

Alarming swells

The biggest danger for Gulf visitors will be with swell – the distance between peak wave activity in the Gulf. A typical break between swells is around 4-5 seconds in Orange Beach, according to Brett Lesinger, the city’s beach safety division chief. Leatherman said anything longer than 8 seconds can be dangerous. The swells predicted for this weekend range anywhere from 11 seconds to 18 seconds, with 2-foot surfs.

“The big issue is the long period of intervals between waves with 16 to 18 seconds,” Lesinger said. “That’s massive for us. That means more powerful waves coming ashore.”

Joethan Phillips, beach safety chief in Gulf Shores, said the more powerful waves will be monitored throughout the weekend to determine if double reds should be flown.

Visitors to Alabama’s beaches are encouraged to sign up for daily beach alerts by texting ALBEACHES to 888777.

“We’ll continue to monitor the situation on each morning and day and connect with Orange Beach to make sure we’re on the same page,” he said.

The potential for danger exists through the Florida Panhandle, including in Panama City Beach where tragedy occurred last month and where beach safety experts worry about continued drownings.

Florida beaches

Bay County in Florida had six rip current-related fatalities last month, accounting for nearly one-third of the rip current deaths recorded in the U.S. so far this year.

Daryl Paul, beach safety director with the Panama City Beach Fire Rescue department, is advocating visitors to the popular beach city to swim closest to lifeguards even during periods of calm waters.

Panama City Beach visitors are being encouraged to also sign up to daily alerts by texting PCBFLAGS to 888777.

“Rip currents along the Emerald Coast can form at any time,” Paul said, adding that his staff will be bolstered this weekend and will receive assistance from firefighters who are trained as lifeguards.

In Pensacola Beach, visitors are being urged to check online for beach conditions at myescambia.com, or on social media.

Taylor Busbee, lifeguard supervisor at Pensacola Beach, said it’s “tough to say with this storm” on whether double red flags will emerge.

“It just depends on which way the storm moves once it gets into the Gulf and what the surf will do,” he said.

Deadly weather phenomena

Eric Bunker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, Fla., said he anticipates “at the very least,” single red flags throughout the weekend. He said the Northern Gulf Coast, especially into Florida, is a prime area for rip current activity whenever a storm enters any portions of the Gulf of Mexico.

But with no direct weather expected from Beryl – rain or wind – the “hidden dangers” will loom and be problematic for vacationers who are less aware of local flag warning systems and other alerts about rough surf.

Paul, in Panama City Beach, encourages people who get stuck in a rip current to remain calm and, if they are confident swimmer, to go parallel to shore or toward a sandbar. And if anyone sees distress in the water, not to chase after them into the water but to call 911 and get a trained lifeguard to handle the situation.

“Rip current is one of the deadliest weather phenomena the United States typically sees,” Bunker said. “Therea re more deaths associated with it than severe weather across the country. We try to get folks aware as much as possible. The locals typically know. It’s the people coming from out of town who don’t know about rip currents much and they get stuck frequently.”