Alert archive / Florida / Rip Current Statements in 2012

Rip Current Statement 29, NWS Tallahassee, FL

December 17, 2012Bay County, Gulf County, Walton County, Florida

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this rip current statement at Dec 17, 2012, 4:15 AM CST for Bay County, Gulf County, Walton County, Florida. It was in force for 22 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Dec 17, 2012, 4:15 AM CST (10:15 UTC)
Expired: Dec 18, 2012, 2:00 AM CST
In force: 22 hr
Issued by: NWS Tallahassee, FL

Counties Bay County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Walton County, FL

The radar

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 41 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:15 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

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 134 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 17 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 662 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 65 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 125 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 124 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.

005 
WHUS42 KTAE 171015
CFWTAE

COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
515 AM EST MON DEC 17 2012

...THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS TODAY ALONG THE FLORIDA
PANHANDLE BEACHES...

.STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING FRONTAL SYSTEM
WILL INCREASE THE SURF ALONG THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE BEACHES AND
RESULT IN A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS TODAY. 

FLZ108-112-114-180800-
/O.NEW.KTAE.RP.S.0029.121217T1015Z-121218T0800Z/
SOUTH WALTON-COASTAL BAY-COASTAL GULF-
515 AM EST MON DEC 17 2012 /415 AM CST MON DEC 17 2012/

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A HIGH RIP
CURRENT RISK. 

* LOCATION...FLORIDA PANHANDLE BEACHES FROM DESTIN TO INDIAN PASS
  FLORIDA.

* WAVES AND SURF...BUILDING TO 3 TO 4 FEET THIS AFTERNOON.

* TIMING...THROUGH TONIGHT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS TODAY. 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 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.

&&

$$

38-GODSEY

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 17, 11:20 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	TAE		55 min
Dec 17, 11:39 AM CST	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Jackson, Washington	66 min
Dec 17, 11:53 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Bay, Calhoun, Jackson, Washington	37 min
Dec 17, 12:19 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Calhoun, Gadsden, Jackson, Liberty	41 min
Dec 17, 12:56 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Calhoun, Gadsden, Leon, Liberty, Wakulla	64 min
Dec 17, 1:26 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Jefferson, Leon	64 min
Dec 17, 2:21 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Madison	54 min
Dec 17, 2:55 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Madison	50 min

Nearby

Rip Current Statements in Florida, 2012 Every 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.