Alert archive / Florida / Rip Current Statements in 2026

Rip Current Statement 62, NWS Tallahassee, FL

August 18, 2026Bay County, Gulf County, Florida

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this rip current statement at Aug 18, 2026, 4:06 AM CDT for Bay County, Gulf County, Florida. It took effect at Aug 18, 2026, 11:00 AM CDT. It was in force for 16 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Aug 18, 2026, 4:06 AM CDT (09:06 UTC)
In effect from: Aug 18, 2026, 11:00 AM CDT
Expired: Aug 19, 2026, 3:00 AM CDT
In force: 16 hr
Issued by: NWS Tallahassee, FL

Counties Bay County, FL, Gulf County, FL

The radar

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:10 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

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 368 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: 2700 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1680 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -23 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 3 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

885 
WHUS42 KTAE 180906
CFWTAE

Coastal Hazard Message
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
506 AM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026

FLZ112-114-190800-
/O.NEW.KTAE.RP.S.0062.260818T1600Z-260819T0800Z/
Coastal Bay-Coastal Gulf-
506 AM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026 /406 AM CDT Tue Aug 18 2026/

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM NOON EDT /11 AM CDT/
TODAY THROUGH LATE TONIGHT...

* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.

* WHERE...Bay and Gulf County Beaches.

* WHEN...From noon EDT /11 AM CDT/ today through late tonight.

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

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.

&&

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 18, 7:31 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	TAE		59 min
Aug 18, 8:30 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	TAE		42 min
Aug 18, 12:49 PM CDT	Heat Advisory	TAE	Bay, Calhoun, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf and 11 more	30 hr
Aug 18, 2:11 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Calhoun, Liberty	34 min
Aug 18, 2:15 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Wakulla	30 min
Aug 18, 2:25 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	TAE		95 min
Aug 18, 2:29 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Taylor	31 min
Aug 18, 2:33 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Wakulla	27 min
Aug 18, 2:42 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Wakulla	33 min
Aug 18, 2:45 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Calhoun, Liberty	30 min
Aug 18, 2:51 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Wakulla	24 min
Aug 18, 2:51 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Lafayette	24 min
Aug 18, 3:00 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Wakulla	30 min
Aug 18, 3:09 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Liberty	36 min
Aug 18, 3:15 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Lafayette	30 min
Aug 18, 3:29 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	TAE		2 hr
Aug 18, 3:36 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Liberty	24 min
Aug 18, 3:40 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	TAE	Wakulla	2 hr
Aug 18, 3:43 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Leon, Wakulla	47 min
Aug 18, 3:47 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Walton	28 min
Aug 18, 3:57 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Taylor	48 min
Aug 18, 4:02 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	TAE		88 min
Aug 18, 4:05 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Franklin	40 min
Aug 18, 4:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Franklin	49 min
Aug 18, 4:15 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Walton	45 min
Aug 18, 4:19 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Lafayette	41 min
Aug 18, 4:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Holmes, Walton	51 min
Aug 18, 4:31 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Jackson	29 min
Aug 18, 4:35 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	TAE	Franklin, Wakulla	55 min
Aug 18, 4:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Holmes	48 min
Aug 18, 4:50 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Walton	40 min
Aug 18, 4:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Holmes, Walton, Washington	32 min
Aug 18, 5:05 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Lafayette	40 min
Aug 18, 5:12 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Gadsden, Jackson	63 min
Aug 18, 5:18 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	TAE		54 min
Aug 18, 5:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Holmes, Walton, Washington	51 min
Aug 18, 5:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Holmes, Jackson, Washington	48 min
Aug 18, 5:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Calhoun, Gadsden, Jackson, Liberty	33 min
Aug 18, 5:46 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Dixie	44 min
Aug 18, 6:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Calhoun, Jackson, Liberty	45 min
Aug 18, 6:17 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Gadsden	43 min
Aug 18, 6:19 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Bay	41 min
Aug 18, 6:29 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Jackson	31 min
Aug 18, 6:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Calhoun, Gulf, Liberty	37 min
Aug 18, 6:55 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Bay	65 min

Nearby

Rip Current Statements in Florida, 2026 Every 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.