Rip Current, Baldwin
- When
- July 30, 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Baldwin County, Orange Beach
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 30.661, -87.750 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Rip Current in Alabama, July 30, 1996
A couple was swimming in the gulf just offshore of Orange Beach when strong rip currents took them both under the water. The husband tried to save his wife but was unable to do so.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 1
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS MOB wrote it up.
A couple was swimming in the gulf just offshore of Orange Beach when strong rip currents took them both under the water. The husband tried to save his wife but was unable to do so. She drowned and he was taken to a local hospital and was later released. They were from out of town and were in the area to attend a funeral.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Current, Baldwin | 1996-07-30 | 67 | Female | In Water | Direct |
What these are
- Rip Current
- A narrow, fast current flowing away from the beach that caused a drowning or rescue.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Rip Current in Florida, July 30, 1996
- Tornado in Colorado, July 30, 1996
- Hail in Colorado, July 30, 1996
- Damaging Wind in West Virginia, July 30, 1996
- Hail in Wyoming, July 30, 1996
- Tornado in Wyoming, July 30, 1996
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 30, 1996
- Tornado in West Virginia, July 30, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Ohio, July 30, 1996
- Flash Flood in New York, July 30, 1996
- Tornado in West Virginia, July 30, 1996
- Damaging Wind in West Virginia, July 30, 1996
More
Every storm in Alabama in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, July 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5560009.