Alert archive / Florida / Rip Current Statements in 2026

Rip Current Statement 10, NWS Tallahassee, FL

February 17, 2026Gulf County, Florida

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this rip current statement at Feb 17, 2026, 1:31 AM CST for Gulf County, Florida. It was in force for 16 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Feb 17, 2026, 1:31 AM CST (07:31 UTC)
Expired
Feb 17, 2026, 6:00 PM CST
In force
16 hr
Issued by
NWS Tallahassee, FL

County Gulf County, FL

The radar

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 97 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:33 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

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 00:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 348 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, Jacksonville, FL at 00:00Z on 2026-02-17Temperature 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°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Jacksonville, FL at 00:00Z on 2026-02-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -84 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1000 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-84 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-2 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

784 
WHUS42 KTAE 170731
CFWTAE

Coastal Hazard Message
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
231 AM EST Tue Feb 17 2026

FLZ114-171545-
/O.NEW.KTAE.RP.S.0010.260217T0731Z-260218T0000Z/
Coastal Gulf-
231 AM EST Tue Feb 17 2026 /131 AM CST Tue Feb 17 2026/

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING...

* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents.

* WHERE...Gulf County Beaches.

* WHEN...Through this evening.

* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away 
  from shore into deeper water.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...A lingering 2-ft surf height is forecast
  today at St Joseph Peninsula which meets the State Park's
  threshold for a high risk of rip currents.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.

&&

$$

Nearby

Rip Current Statements in Florida, 2026Every rip current statement in 2026

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.