* Download these resources: https://bit.ly/beachboatingweatherhazards

Contacts: 

John Cannaday, NYSG Great Lakes Recreation and Tourism Specialist, E: jdc378@cornell.edu, P: (315) 849-4436

Kathleen Fallon, NYSG Coastal Processes & Hazards Specialist, E: kmf228@cornell.edu, P: (631) 632-8730

Roy Widrig, NYSG Great Lakes Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist, E: rlw294@cornell.edu, P: (315) 234-1916

New York Sea Grant provides outreach materials in English and Spanish to educate beachgoers and boaters about weather hazards and how to stay safe while they recreate

Stony Brook, NY, March 25, 2024 - Weather-related incidents and fatalities occurring at beaches and on the water can be a result of lightning and storms, wind, the sun, and rip currents. According to the National Weather Service, over the past decade 153 fatalities can be attributed to heat, 41 to lightning and storms, 53 to wind, and 71 to rip currents nationwide. New York State has nearly 1,300 bathing beaches visited by millions of patrons and more than 20,000 registered recreational boaters. Considering this, education about the hazards that beachgoers and boaters may encounter is essential to saving lives.

In response, New York Sea Grant (NYSG) developed outreach materials including rack cards, stickers, magnets, and posters that detail the aforementioned weather hazards, their associated recreational impact, and what to do if a stakeholder is experiencing them. These resources, available in English and Spanish, were distributed across New York’s marinas and public bathing beaches where they are displayed prominently and available to boaters or beachgoers before they engage in water recreational activities.

Nearly 1,000 of the informative items were distributed at outreach events and workshops that targeted marina managers, beachgoers, and other relevant stakeholders. Additionally, these materials were made available at community events, education and nature centers, and parks, and during individual meetings. Digital versions are available on the NYSG* and partner websites, e.g., the National Weather Service.

Project Partners:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Weather-Ready Nation
• National Weather Service
• Discover Clean & Safe Boating

Funding: 

• National Sea Grant Office


More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 34 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.

Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.

The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Oswego, the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark, and in Watertown. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University and with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County on Long Island, in Queens, at Brooklyn College, with Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC, in Bronx, with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County in Kingston, and with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County in Elmsford.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly.