Memorial Day is upon us, and with a long weekend kicking off the summer season, it's important to check beach safety advisories before heading to the shore.

The City of Orange Beach posted on their official Facebook page some tools available to the public, such as the "know before you go" alerts for surf and weather conditions.

The post was made to inform residents and visitors on "beach safety protocols, rip current dangers and available emergency resources."

The city recommended signing up for surf conditions and beach flag status updates by texting ALBEACHES to 888777. It reminded visitors who may only want the notifications for the duration of their vacation they can opt out by texting "STOP."

For weather alerts, the post recommended signing up for Baldwin County warnings at AlertBaldwin.com. To find out beach conditions via phone call it said to call (251) 968-SURF (7873) for Gulf Shores updates and call (251) 981-SURF (7873) for Orange Beach updates.

For online beach reports, the post suggests visiting https://www.gulfshores.com/beach-water-activities/beaches/beach-flag-warning-system/ or checking the Orange Beach Surf Rescue Facebook page.

Weather and beach flag/condition updates are also listed in Gulf Coast Media's newsletter, The Wave, which you can sign up for at www.gulfcoastmedia.com/newsletter.

The City of Gulf Shores posted a list of "beach safety tips" in honor of Beach Safety Week, which focus on what to do on the shore or in the water.

The first tip was to stay hydrated and constantly reapply sunscreen to "beat the heat." The city also suggested wearing sunglasses. The next few tips focused on what to do in the water, such as always confirm a lifeguard is near, always swim with a flotation device or life jacket, never swim alone, and never dive into the Gulf.

With 12 lifeguard towers in use, the city encouraged swimmers to "make sure you can see a guard" when in the water. Rather than diving into the water head-first, the post said to always enter "feet first" because there could be "shallow or deep waters."

Other tips on the post gave tips on rip currents and the warning flag system.

If you get pulled away from the shore in a rip current, the city said to "swim parallel to the shore, float on your back and call/wave for assistance."

Most importantly, when caught in a rip current, don't panic and don't try to swim against it.

The Alabama's Beaches website has a page dedicated to beach safety including daily beach reports, rip current information and lifeguard tower locations.

For how to spot a rip current, the site suggests paying attention to how the waves are crashing onto the shore, with perpendicular waves causing rip currents to be more prevalent than angular waves.

Rip currents are commonly found near "sand bars, piers, pilings and jetties" and often have telltale signs in the water. It suggested looking for "gaps between the waves" where a strip of calm water is "surrounded by waves."

"Look for discolored water near the shore," the site reads. "Rip currents tend to drag large amounts of sand and sediment back out to sea with them, so many rip currents are easily identified by a noticeable flow of sand extending away from the shore."

As written in GCM's most recent edition of Beachin' magazine, Orange Beach Fire and Rescue Beach Safety Division Chief Brett Lesinger said it is important to swim near a lifeguard, check daily beach conditions and set swimming rules among your beachgoer group.

He also suggested wearing bright swimsuit colors — like neon orange, yellow, hot pink or lime green — to make it easier for rescuers or family members to locate you if you were to become a swimmer in distress. Lesinger also encouraged parents to keep track of their children and create a designated meeting spot in the event separation occurs.

As mentioned in the Beachin' article, visit www.usla.org for more safety tips.