Daytona Beach, FL – If you’ve ever felt like swimming in the Atlantic Ocean on Christmas, now could be a real good time to do it.
Volusia County Beach Safety & Ocean Rescue is staffing more lifeguard towers than normal this holiday weekend due to the unseasonably hot weather.
Beach Safety Captain Aaron Jenkins says there is a red flag out for hazardous rip current conditions and 2 to 4-foot high surf, so he recommends swimming in front of a lifeguard if you do want to go in the water.
“Water temperature is holding steady at 69 degrees,” Jenkins added. “The wind has died down. We did have some Man-O-War washing in and had a few minor stings, [but[ nothing of a serious nature.”
Lifeguards have closed various sections of the beach for a short period of time but most driveable areas are available for use.
Low tide is expected around 2 PM Christmas Day, according to Jenkins.
The high temperature in Daytona Beach this Christmas is expected to be 83 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. That’s well above normal for this time of year and would beat the previous Christmas record of 82 set in 1988.
The weather for the rest of the holiday weekend is expected to be around the same, per NWS.
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.