Alert archive / North Carolina / Rip Current Statements in 2012

Rip Current Statement 4, NWS Wilmington, NC

October 25, 2012Brunswick County, New Hanover County, Pender County, North Carolina; Georgetown County, Horry County, South Carolina

NWS Wilmington, NC issued this rip current statement at Oct 25, 2012, 5:01 PM EDT for Brunswick County, New Hanover County, Pender County, North Carolina; Georgetown County, Horry County, South Carolina. It took effect at Oct 26, 2012, 7:00 AM EDT. It was in force for 25 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 25, 2012, 5:01 PM EDT (21:01 UTC)
In effect from
Oct 26, 2012, 7:00 AM EDT
Expired
Oct 27, 2012, 8:00 AM EDT
In force
25 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 21:02 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, 9.0 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 2012-10-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2012-10-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -5 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
885 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
5 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.

519 
WHUS42 KILM 252101
CFWILM

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
501 PM EDT THU OCT 25 2012

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK BEGINNING 7 AM EDT FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH
FRIDAY EVENING IN ADVANCE OF HURRICANE SANDY...

NCZ106-108-110-SCZ054-056-260945-
/O.NEW.KILM.RP.S.0004.121026T1100Z-121027T0000Z/
COASTAL PENDER-COASTAL NEW HANOVER-COASTAL BRUNSWICK-COASTAL HORRY-
COASTAL GEORGETOWN-
501 PM EDT THU OCT 25 2012

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH
FRIDAY EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON HAS ISSUED A HIGH RIP
CURRENT RISK...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY
EVENING.

* TIDES AND SWELL...LONG PERIOD SOUTHEAST SWELL IN ADVANCE OF
  HURRICANE SANDY WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT THE BEACHES EARLY FRIDAY
  MORNING. SWELL OF 6 TO 7 FEET OFFSHORE AT 10 TO 12 SECONDS WILL
  CREATE BREAKING WAVES OF 5 TO 7 FEET AT THE LOCAL BEACHES.

* RIP CURRENT RISK...STRONG RIP CURRENTS ARE LIKELY ON FRIDAY. 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 AND PIERS...BUT STRONG RIP
  CURRENTS MAY DEVELOP ANYWHERE ALONG THE COASTLINE.

* TIMING...THE STRONGEST RIP CURRENTS WILL OCCUR WITHIN A 2 HOUR
  WINDOW EITHER SIDE OF LOW TIDE...WHICH WILL OCCUR BETWEEN 1130
  AM AND 1230 PM ON FRIDAY.

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
1 follow-up statement
924 
WHUS42 KILM 260850
CFWILM

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
450 AM EDT FRI OCT 26 2012

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING IN
ADVANCE OF HURRICANE SANDY...

NCZ106-108-110-SCZ054-056-270015-
/O.EXT.KILM.RP.S.0004.121026T1100Z-121027T1200Z/
COASTAL PENDER-COASTAL NEW HANOVER-COASTAL BRUNSWICK-COASTAL HORRY-
COASTAL GEORGETOWN-
450 AM EDT FRI OCT 26 2012

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK NOW IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING...

* TIDES AND SWELL...LONG PERIOD SOUTHEAST SWELL IN ADVANCE OF
  HURRICANE SANDY WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT THE BEACHES EARLY THIS MORNING.
  SWELL OF 6 TO 7 FEET OFFSHORE AT 10 TO 12 SECONDS WILL CREATE
  BREAKING WAVES OF 5 TO 7 FEET AT THE LOCAL BEACHES.

* RIP CURRENT RISK...STRONG RIP CURRENTS ARE EXPECTED. THE
  STRONGEST RIP CURRENTS WILL OCCUR AROUND LOW TIDE...AND NEAR
  JETTIES AND PIERS.

* TIMING...THE STRONGEST RIP CURRENTS WILL OCCUR WITHIN A 2 HOUR
  WINDOW EITHER SIDE OF LOW TIDE...WHICH WILL OCCUR TODAY BETWEEN
  1130 AM AND 1230 PM.

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

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 25, 4:49 PM EDTTropical Storm WatchILMBrunswick, New Hanover, Pender25 hr

Nearby

Rip Current Statements in North Carolina, 2012Rip Current Statements in South Carolina, 2012Every rip current statement in 2012

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.