National Weather Service (NWS) officials have issued high rip current risk warnings for large sections of the Florida coastline on Friday, advising more than 3 million residents and visitors to avoid swimming as dangerous marine conditions threaten the state through the weekend.

Newsweek reached out to the NWS offices in Jacksonville and Melbourne, Florida, by phone for comment.

Why It Matters

The widespread warnings affect communities from Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties in the panhandle to Nassau County in Northeast Florida, and south through Miami-Dade County, covering both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The alerts have been issued amid strong onshore winds, which are known to create hazardous surf and powerful rip currents.

These conditions put swimmers, surfers, an

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