SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. (PIX11) — It doesn’t feel like it’s after Labor Day, but the heat means people are lingering at the Jersey Shore just a bit longer.
However, big waves and rough currents mean no swimming is allowed in Seaside Heights.
“It’s all based on what’s going on out in the Atlantic,” said Seaside Heights Beach Patrol Chief Jay Boyd. “We had a lot of northeast wind. On this part of the coast in the Jersey Shore, you have northeast wind, we get a lot of rips.”
Some beach patrol officials call these large waves “boomers” for the loud, thunderous sound they make when they crash on shore.
“Yeah, these are big,” said Gary Segnello, visiting his native New Jersey from Las Vegas, who hasn’t seen waves this big in years. “We can’t swim today, unfortunately, but we’re out here, it’s nice. Maybe tomorrow, get in the ocean and catch some waves.”
Labor Day weekend was shrouded in tragedy in parts of the shore with multiple drownings, including a suspected one in Seaside Park. Beach Patrol officials strongly urge you to swim near a lifeguard and stay out of the water when they tell you, especially if you’re not in the water often.
“This isn’t for someone who just comes down once in a while to the shore, swims in the ocean on a calm day with lifeguards and you swam around, and all of the sudden you’re thinking you know the ocean,” said Boyd. “It’s just ill-advised.”
