Alert archive / Florida / Rip Current Statements in 2026

Rip Current Statement 66, NWS Tallahassee, FL

August 31, 2026Walton County, Florida

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this rip current statement at Aug 31, 2026, 10:49 AM CDT for Walton County, Florida. It took effect at Aug 31, 2026, 11:00 AM CDT. It was in force for 14 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 31, 2026, 10:49 AM CDT (15:49 UTC)
In effect from
Aug 31, 2026, 11:00 AM CDT
Expired
Sep 1, 2026, 1:00 AM CDT
In force
14 hr
Issued by
NWS Tallahassee, FL

County Walton County, FL

The radar

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 25 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:52 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 12:00Z, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 291 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2026-08-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 862 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2026-08-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -19 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
862 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
846 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-19 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-9 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

690 
WHUS42 KTAE 311549
CFWTAE

Coastal Hazard Message
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
1149 AM EDT Mon Aug 31 2026

FLZ108-010600-
/O.NEW.KTAE.RP.S.0066.260831T1600Z-260901T0600Z/
South Walton-
1049 AM CDT Mon Aug 31 2026

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

* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.

* WHERE...Walton County Beaches.

* WHEN...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.

&&

$$

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.