Rip Current in California, September 16 to 17, 2001

Name: Rip Current in California, September 16 to 17, 2001
Start: 2001-09-16T16:00
End: 2001-09-17T16:00
Location: California

September 16 to 17, 2001 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A 49 year old male surfer nearly drowned in the surf off Crystal Cove. He was rescued by a lifeguard and a bystander.

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: 0
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 SGX wrote it up.

A 49 year old male surfer nearly drowned in the surf off Crystal Cove. He was rescued by a lifeguard and a bystander.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 16, 1:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 16, 1:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
230 PM PDT SUN SEP 16 2001

                             ...SYNOPSIS...

ONSHORE FLOW AND THE MARINE LAYER WILL CONTINUE NIGHT AND MORNING LOW
CLOUDS AND FOG WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. OTHERWISE...DRY WEST FLOW ALOFT
WILL KEEP THE WEATHER FAIR.

                            ...DISCUSSION...

LOW CLOUDS/FOG WERE INTO MOST COASTAL AREAS AND W PORTION OF INLAND SAN
VALLEYS THIS AM...OTHERWISE CLEAR. THERE WAS ALSO A WEAK EDDY THIS AM.
STRATUS REMAINS QUITE EXTENSIVE OFFSHORE. 12Z NKX SOUNDING HAD INVERSION
BASED NEAR 1500 FT WITH DRY WLY WINDS ALOFT. GRADIENTS CONTINUE TO TREND
ONSHORE WITH ABOUT 6 MB SAN-IPL.

UPPER TROUGH MOVES PAST TO THE N BY LATE IN THE DAY MON FOLLOWED BY WEAK
RIDGING TUE INTO WED. WILL PROBABLY HAVE WEAK EDDY AGAIN TONIGHT FOR
CONTINUED DEEPENING OF MARINE LAYER. RIDGING AND A LITTLE WEAKER ONSHORE
GRADIENTS TUE SHOULD RESULT IN SOME DECREASE IN MARINE LAYER AND A
LITTLE WARMING. SHORT WAVE MOVES PAST WED BUT TOO WEAK AND TOO FAR N TO
HAVE MUCH IMPACT LOCALLY. OTHERWISE...DRY WLY FLOW ALOFT FOR FAIR
WEATHER.

LONGER RANGE PROGS SLOWLY DEEPEN ANOTHER TROUGH OVER THE W COAST FOR
DEEPENING MARINE LAYER AND COOLING TREND THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK.

.SAN...NONE.

ATKIN

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.

Rip Current, Orange

When: September 16, 4:00 PM PST to September 17, 4:00 PM PST
Where: Orange County, Crystal Cove
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 33.677, -117.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in California in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in California, September 2001

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: 5269143.