Big waves and lots of seaweed at the beach

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - You will notice two things if you visit the beach this Sunday: big waves and lots of seaweed.

Thanks to Tropical Storm Leslie, there is rough surf and lots of seaweed all over the beach. They say that the heavy surf is leading to dangerous rip currents that can drag people out into the water. And the seaweed happens to every year between October and February. Usually it floats offshore, but the rough water can carry it in, along with baby turtles. Wildlife officials ask that people keep an eye out for that.

The beach was also closed to traffic due to heavy wind, big waves, and the tide coming in. 

Beach patrol had to rescue four people from the water on Saturday. Remember that the way to deal with a rip current is to relax and go with the flow, while swimming sideways to get out of its grip and swim back to shore.