Florida, 1997

Rip Current in Florida, March 28, 1997

March 28, 1997 · NWS TBW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 rip current, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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.

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The toll

Deaths
2
Injuries
0
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.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.

Rip Current, Lee

When
March 28, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Lee County, 25 mi WNW of Ft Myers
Deaths
2 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
26.625, -81.849 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Two girls, ages nine and twelve, were swept out to sea by a rip current at Boca Grande Pass.

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.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Rip Current, Lee1997-03-289FemaleIn WaterDirect
Rip Current, Lee1997-03-2812FemaleIn WaterDirect

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

More

Every storm in Florida in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, March 1997

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: 5611251.