Lower Florida Keys and Key West: rip current risk and surf forecast
The National Weather Service does not issue a surf zone forecast for these beaches. This page carries the alerts, the buoy, the tides and the forecast for these beaches instead.
Buoy KYWF1, 17 mi out, measured 87 °F water. Sunset 7:24 PM.
- Rip current risk
- Not givenNo forecast in issue
- Water
- 87 °FBuoy KYWF1
- Sunset
- 7:24 PMEDT
Rip current risk on the map
Today’s rip current risk in every surf zone the National Weather Service forecasts for over Lower Florida Keys and Key West. Open it for the live map, where it pans and zooms.
Open the live map with rip current risk
Map layer from NOAA National Weather Service surf zone forecasts. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
Alerts in force
No beach hazards statement, high surf advisory or other warning is in force for Lower Florida Keys and Key West. Those are the products a coastal office issues when the water turns dangerous. When one is issued it appears here and on the alerts page for this area.
The surf zone forecast
The National Weather Service office responsible for these beaches does not issue a surf zone forecast, so there is no official rip current risk here. It does issue beach hazards statements and rip current statements when the water turns dangerous; any in force are shown above, and the buoy, the tides and the town forecast below describe the conditions.
The water now, measured
Buoy KYWF1, 8724580 - Key West, FL, 17 mi away, reported 10:18 AM.
- Water temperature
- 87 °F
- Air temperature
- 87 °F
- Wind
- 7 kt from the SW
From NOAA's National Data Buoy Center. Wave height is the significant height, the average of the highest third; the largest waves run half again as high. Offshore buoys read bigger than the surf at the beach.
Tides today
North Harris Channel, 0.1 mi away. Feet above mean lower low water.
- High tide1:38 AM0.3 ft
- Low tide7:36 AM0.3 ft
- High tide11:50 AM0.5 ft
- Low tide9:36 PM0.2 ft
Low tide often exposes the sandbars and channels that shape rip currents, and the risk can run higher for an hour or two either side of it. Full tide table for North Harris Channel.
Sun and daylight
- Sunrise today
- 7:15 AM
- Sunset today
- 7:24 PM
- Sunrise tomorrow
- 7:15 AM
- Sunset tomorrow
- 7:22 PM
Times are Eastern Daylight Time. Lifeguards are off duty outside posted hours, and the rip current risk does not fall with the light.
Beaches in this forecast
- Key West
- Bahia Honda State Park
- Smathers Beach
As the National Weather Service lists them in its surf zone forecast.
What this means
The three levels the National Weather Service issues, and what to do at each.
| High | Life-threatening rip currents are likely. The surf zone is dangerous for swimmers of every level. Stay out of the water. |
|---|---|
| Moderate | Life-threatening rip currents are possible. Swim near a lifeguard, and follow the beach patrol and its flags. |
| Low | Life-threatening rip currents are not expected, but they can still form near groins, jetties, reefs and piers. Swim near a lifeguard. |
If a rip current carries you out
- Do not fight the current. It pulls you away from the beach, not under the water.
- Stay calm and keep your head above water. Float or tread water until the pull eases.
- Swim parallel to the beach, along the shore, until you are out of the current, then angle in toward the beach.
- If you cannot escape, face the shore, wave your arms and call for help.
- If someone else is caught, do not go in after them. Get a lifeguard, call 911, and throw them something that floats.
Thunderstorms and lightning
Thunderstorms build fast over water on a summer afternoon. Water and open sand leave you the tallest thing around. When thunder roars, go indoors: leave the water and the beach for a building or a hard-topped vehicle, and wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before going back.
A rip current is a narrow stream of water flowing away from the beach, through the surf and past the breakers. It pulls swimmers out, not under. Rip current and lightning safety guidance from the National Weather Service.
Nearby
The stretches of shore the National Weather Service forecasts on either side of this one.
More for this place
Sources
Rip current risk, surf, water temperature and UV from the National Weather Service surf zone forecast and beach forecast, office KEY. Waves and water temperature measured by NOAA's National Data Buoy Center. Tides from NOAA CO-OPS. Alerts from the National Weather Service for zone FLZ078.