Rough Surf on Alabama Beaches

A steady south wind is really kicking up the surf. "We tell the kids to get their feet wet and not to get too far out there" In conditions like this, the beach is not a very relaxing place for Lisa Hughbanks. "Actually we both sort of feel like we need a nerve pill cause it is a little scary."
With no lifeguards on Alabama beaches there is a real danger. Former lifeguard Nicole Held found out the hard way while on vacation. "I've actually pulled someone out in the ocean here. It's been a couple of years back. The kids got to far out and the current pulled them under."
Waves are breaking around two to four feet but it's not the waves that concerns folks as much as it is what's going on underneath them.
"If you are not a strong swimmer, days like today you are better off just staying on the beach."
Melvin Shepard is the Aquatics Coordinator with the city of Orange Beach. "We do have a very strong lateral current running to the west and those waves combined with the currents makes it very dangerous."
Unfortunately for Lisa Hughbanks, "It's been red every time we've come," conditions aren't expected to get any better for the remainder of the week.