Rip Current, Humboldt
- When
- October 30, 3:10 PM PST
- Where
- Humboldt County, Big Lagoon
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
- Coordinates
- 40.705, -123.916 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Rip Current in California, October 30, 1998
A visitor on her first trip to the ocean was swept 100 yards offshore while collecting rocks and shells. The surf was 10 to 15 feet high.
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
- 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.
What happened
The episode as NWS EKA wrote it up.
A visitor on her first trip to the ocean was swept 100 yards offshore while collecting rocks and shells. The surf was 10 to 15 feet high. The victim was standing in knee-deep water with her back to the ocean.
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, Humboldt | 1998-10-30 | 57 | 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
- Tornado and Hail in New Mexico, October 30, 1998
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Texas, October 30 to 31, 1998
- Lightning Strikes in Oklahoma, October 30, 1998
- Strong Wind in Maine, October 30, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Indiana, October 30, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New Mexico, October 30, 1998
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, October 30, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, October 30, 1998
- Hail in New Mexico, October 30, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, October 30, 1998
- Funnel Cloud in Arizona, October 30, 1998
- Hail in Texas, October 30, 1998
More
Every storm in California in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in California, October 1998
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5672167.