California, 1999

Rip Current in California, May 16, 1999

May 16, 1999 · NWS SGX · 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
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.

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, San Diego

When
May 16, 3:30 PM PST
Where
San Diego County, 2 mi S of Ocean Beach
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A 22 year old student from Switzerland who went out in rough surf, got caught in a rip current off Sunset Cliffs Park near the end of Guizot Street and drowned.

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, San Diego1999-05-1622MaleIn 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 California in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 1999

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: 5695435.