Florida, 2001

Rip Current in Florida, November 23, 2001

November 23, 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 Nov 23, 11:45 AM CST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 23, 11:45 AM CST, 2 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1145 AM CST FRI NOV 23 2001

A QUICK UPDATE TO ZONE PACKAGE TO ADD THUNDERSTORMS...DECREASE CLOUD
COVER AND BUMP HIGHS UP A CATEGORY MOST SECTIONS. STARTING TO SEE A
LOT OF SUN OVER THE FA...SO BUMPING AFTERNOON HIGHS UP A CAT
LOGICAL. WITH AFTERNOON HEATING AND BOUNDARIES FLOATING AROUND FROM
THIS MORNINGS ACTIVITY (ACTIVITY MOSTLY OUT OF THE FA AS I
WRITE)...CANT REMOVE PRECIP FROM FORECAST...WITH AFTERNOON TSRA
POSSIBLE.

.MOB...
AL...NONE.
FL...NONE.
MS...NONE.

16

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
November 23, 2:00 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)

An increasing onshore wind flow in advance of an approaching cold front resulted in the development of strong rip currents along some Florida panhandle beaches. Unusually warm temperatures prior to frontal passage persuaded more beachgoers to venture into the waters than would normally do so in late November. The combination of the warm temperatures and the developing rip currents proved deadly to one beachgoer, drowning a man visiting from Missouri.

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 Rosa2001-11-2342MaleIn 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, November 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: 5272412.