Alert archive / North Carolina / Rip Current Statements in 2011

Rip Current Statement 3, NWS Wilmington, NC

August 24, 2011Brunswick County, New Hanover County, Pender County, North Carolina; Georgetown County, Horry County, South Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this rip current statement at Aug 24, 2011, 3:59 PM EDT for Brunswick County, New Hanover County, Pender County, North Carolina; Georgetown County, Horry County, South Carolina. It took effect at Aug 25, 2011, 7:00 AM EDT. It was in force for 13 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 24, 2011, 3:59 PM EDT (19:59 UTC)
In effect from
Aug 25, 2011, 7:00 AM EDT
Expired
Aug 25, 2011, 8:00 PM EDT
In force
13 hr
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, NC

Counties Brunswick County, NC, New Hanover County, NC, Pender County, NC, Georgetown County, SC, Horry County, SC

The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 3 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:00 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Newport, NC (KMHX), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 168 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Newport, NC at 12:00Z on 2011-08-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Newport, NC at 12:00Z on 2011-08-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 32 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
4 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-53 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
998 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
4 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
71 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

564 
WHUS42 KILM 241959
CFWILM

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
359 PM EDT WED AUG 24 2011

NCZ106-108-110-SCZ054-056-251000-
/O.NEW.KILM.RP.S.0003.110825T1100Z-110826T0000Z/
COASTAL PENDER-COASTAL NEW HANOVER-COASTAL BRUNSWICK-COASTAL HORRY-
COASTAL GEORGETOWN-
359 PM EDT WED AUG 24 2011

...RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY
EVENING...

* TIDES AND SWELL...HIGH AMPLITUDE...LONG PERIOD SOUTHEAST SWELL
  IN ADVANCE OF MAJOR HURRICANE IRENE WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT THE
  BEACHES EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. SWELL OF 6 TO 7 FEET OFFSHORE AT
  12 OR 13 SECONDS WILL CREATE BREAKING WAVES OF 5 TO 7 FEET AT
  ALL THE LOCAL BEACHES.

* RIP CURRENTS...VERY STRONG RIP CURRENTS ARE LIKELY ON THURSDAY.
  THE STRONGEST RIP CURRENTS WILL OCCUR AROUND LOW TIDE AS
  SIGNIFICANT WAVE ENERGY RETREATS FROM THE BEACHES. THE STRONGEST
  RIP CURRENTS WILL OCCUR NEAR JETTIES...PIERS...AND SAND
  BARS...BUT STRONG RIP CURRENTS MAY DEVELOP ANYWHERE ALONG THE
  ENTIRE COASTLINE.

* TIMING...THE STRONGEST RIP CURRENTS WILL OCCUR WITHIN A 2 HOUR
  WINDOW EITHER SIDE OF LOW TIDE...WHICH WILL OCCUR BETWEEN 10 AND
  11 AM ON THURSDAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS.

RIP CURRENTS ARE POWERFUL CHANNELS OF WATER FLOWING QUICKLY AWAY
FROM SHORE...WHICH OCCUR MOST OFTEN AT LOW SPOTS OR BREAKS IN THE
SANDBAR AND IN THE VICINITY OF STRUCTURES SUCH AS GROINS...JETTIES
AND PIERS. HEED THE ADVICE OF LIFEGUARDS AND THE BEACH PATROL. PAY
ATTENTION TO FLAGS AND POSTED SIGNS. 

IF YOU BECOME CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT...DO NOT PANIC. REMAIN CALM
AND BEGIN TO SWIM PARALLEL TO SHORE. ONCE YOU ARE AWAY FROM THE
FORCE OF THE RIP CURRENT...BEGIN TO SWIM BACK TO THE BEACH. DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO SWIM DIRECTLY AGAINST A RIP CURRENT. EVEN A STRONG
SWIMMER CAN BECOME EXHAUSTED QUICKLY.

&&

$$

JDW
1 follow-up statement
136 
WHUS42 KILM 250726
CFWILM

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
326 AM EDT THU AUG 25 2011

NCZ106-108-110-SCZ054-056-260000-
/O.CON.KILM.RP.S.0003.110825T1100Z-110826T0000Z/
COASTAL PENDER-COASTAL NEW HANOVER-COASTAL BRUNSWICK-COASTAL HORRY-
COASTAL GEORGETOWN-
326 AM EDT THU AUG 25 2011

...RIP CURRENT RISK REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM EDT THIS MORNING
THROUGH THIS EVENING...

* TIDES AND SWELL...HIGH AMPLITUDE...LONG PERIOD SOUTHEAST SWELL IN 
  ADVANCE OF MAJOR HURRICANE IRENE WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT THE BEACHES 
  EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. SWELL OF 6 TO 7 FEET OFFSHORE AT 12 OR 13 
  SECONDS WILL CREATE BREAKING WAVES OF 5 TO 7 FEET AT ALL THE 
  LOCAL BEACHES. 

* RIP CURRENTS...VERY STRONG RIP CURRENTS ARE LIKELY ON THURSDAY. 
  THE STRONGEST RIP CURRENTS WILL OCCUR AROUND LOW TIDE AS 
  SIGNIFICANT WAVE ENERGY RETREATS FROM THE BEACHES. THE STRONGEST 
  RIP CURRENTS WILL OCCUR NEAR JETTIES...PIERS...AND SAND BARS...
  BUT STRONG RIP CURRENTS MAY DEVELOP ANYWHERE ALONG THE ENTIRE 
  COASTLINE. 

* TIMING...THE STRONGEST RIP CURRENTS WILL OCCUR WITHIN A 2 HOUR 
  WINDOW EITHER SIDE OF LOW TIDE...WHICH WILL OCCUR BETWEEN 10 AND 
  11 AM ON THURSDAY. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS.

RIP CURRENTS ARE POWERFUL CHANNELS OF WATER FLOWING QUICKLY AWAY
FROM SHORE...WHICH OCCUR MOST OFTEN AT LOW SPOTS OR BREAKS IN THE
SANDBAR AND IN THE VICINITY OF STRUCTURES SUCH AS GROINS...JETTIES
AND PIERS. HEED THE ADVICE OF LIFEGUARDS AND THE BEACH PATROL. PAY
ATTENTION TO FLAGS AND POSTED SIGNS.

IF YOU BECOME CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT...DO NOT PANIC. REMAIN CALM
AND BEGIN TO SWIM PARALLEL TO SHORE. ONCE YOU ARE AWAY FROM THE
FORCE OF THE RIP CURRENT...BEGIN TO SWIM BACK TO THE BEACH. DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO SWIM DIRECTLY AGAINST A RIP CURRENT. EVEN A STRONG
SWIMMER CAN BECOME EXHAUSTED QUICKLY.

&&

$$

PLEASE VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE
NEW RIP CURRENT HAZARD...

HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SURVEY/NWS-SURVEY.PHP?CODE=RCVTECCHM

43

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wilmington, NC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 23, 8:44 PM EDTAreal Flood AdvisoryILMFlorence91 min
Aug 24, 4:36 PM EDTSmall Craft AdvisoryILM39 hr

Nearby

Rip Current Statements in North Carolina, 2011Rip Current Statements in South Carolina, 2011Every rip current statement in 2011

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.