Rip current, rough surf warnings at Jersey shore

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (WPVI) -- Storms churning hundreds of miles away are still enough to make things dangerous at the Jersey shore.

Lifeguards are on high alert because of rip currents and rough surf that could be a threat to anyone looking to go for a swim.

"This has been the roughest we've had throughout the summer," said senior Lt. Brian Booth of the Ocean City Beach Patrol.

It's all because of tropical storms roiling in the Atlantic Ocean. Bathers are seeing rougher than normal surf and some powerful rip currents.

"When you are swimming, it pulls you to the complete opposite direction from where, basically, you want to swim and it's really rough. So you can't go out that deep or it'll just pull you out," said Jason Heins of South Philadelphia.

"Going in up to my knees I'm scared, it's very rough," said Jackie Tummon of Estell Manor, N.J. "Look how big the waves are, they're huge."

"I kept getting pulled out, but, like, I tried to stand my ground," said Maya Heins.

At First Street Beach in Ocean City, lifeguards are monitoring water conditions minute by minute.

Within five minutes of arriving at lifeguard headquarters, two different rescue calls came in, forcing guards to temporarily clear the water at nearby beaches

"It'll start sweeping you out and it may not look bad on the surface, and you may lose your footing for a second, and it's just going to pull you straight out," said Lt. Booth.

"I have a healthy respect for the water and the force of it," said Barbara Graf of Mays Landing. "It's nature and you got to have a respect for it at all times."

Lifeguards are warning bathers not to swim on unguarded beaches, no matter how tempting the water is. They say swimmers must be conscious of exactly how rough it is out there.