Research: Rip currents may remain in areas.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. _ Swimmers might want to take note of where rip currents are reported because a University of Florida study says the currents are able to remain in the same area for months.

A Maryland man drowned in a rip current while swimming Monday near Myrtle Beach's Surfside Pier. Rip currents typically happen when water pushed between a sandbar and the beach rushes seaward through a channel in the bar.

The study found that channels expand or shrink as weather and surf conditions change but remain in the same place along the beach even after storms. Only a particularly large storm or hurricane moves the channel, the study found.

According to …