Florida, 2001

Rip Current in Florida, April 29, 2001

April 29, 2001 · NWS MOB · 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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  • Marine and coastal
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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.

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 Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 29, 9:39 AM CST, 2 hours 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 29, 9:39 AM CST, 2 hours 21 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...MESOSCALE UPDATE...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1039 AM CDT SUN APR 29 2001

BASED ON LATEST FEW T/TD OBSERVATIONS...WILL EXTEND RED FLAG WARNING
TO ENTIRE NW FL PANHANDLE.  RH% VALUES ARE ALREADY AOB 40% AS OF
1456Z (AND AT PLACES ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST).  QUICK GLANCE AT
UAIR SOUNDING INDICATE THAT PLENTY OF DRY AIR WILL CONTINUE MIXING
DOWNWARD INTO LOWEST 1 KM FOR NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.

LASTLY...HAVE UPDATED MARINE ZONES BEYOND 2O NMI TO ADD SMALL CRAFT
EXERCISE CAUTION AND UP THE WIND\SEA PORTION A BIT TO REMAIN
CONSISTENT WITH ADVY CRITERIA.

.MOB...
AL...NONE.
FL...RED FLAG WARNING FOR INLAND FLZ001-006-008 THIS AFTERNOON.
MS...NONE.

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, Santa Rosa

When
April 29, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Santa Rosa County, Navarre
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
30.693, -87.018 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A 52 year old Walton county man drowned while swimming in rough surf near Navarre Beach. The man was swimming just offshore when he got caught in a strong rip current and drowned. The time of the downing was estimated to be around noon CST. This was the fourth person to die in strong rip currents in the area this month.

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, Santa Rosa2001-04-2952MaleIn 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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, April 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: 5240504.