Tropical Storm Franklin To Impact Jersey Shore Tides

NEW JERSEY — Residents and visitors to the Jersey Shore could be in for several days of rough surf and dangerous rip currents, as Tropical Storm Franklin in the mid-Atlantic begins to build strength.

Turbulent surf and an uptick in the number of rip currents are possible in the coastal regions of New Jersey beginning early next week, added the National Weather Service.

There is a moderate risk for dangerous rip currents on Friday afternoon and evening along the Jersey Shore, which is not related to Franklin, forecasters added. And, there is a lower risk for rip currents on Saturday.

But beginning next week, "a period of building swells and dangerous rip currents along our coast (are) looking probable as tropical cyclone Franklin tracks by well offshore," NWS forecasters said. This could impact the Jersey Shore for several days, even as Franklin is hundreds of miles off the coast.

"Building swells...should arrive with seas increasing to the 5 to 7 foot range by Monday night and Tuesday," added the NWS.

The storm battered the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, killing at least one person and leaving two others missing.

AccuWeather meteorologists predict Franklin could reach the intensity of a Category 2 hurricane this weekend as it turns northward, on a path that will make "a close pass near Bermuda" on Monday and Tuesday. This level of tropical cyclone has maximum sustained winds of 96-110 miles per hour on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

Franklin's impact on New Jersey will likely be limited to coastal regions — with strong rip currents, rough surf, and building seas offshore in the mid-Atlantic from Saturday to Wednesday, AccuWeather said.

"AccuWeather meteorologists currently believe that westerly steering winds will protect the Northeast states from any close encounter with Franklin," said the weather forecasting company on Friday.

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