Florida, 2002Rip Current in Florida, April 12, 2002
April 12, 2002 · NWS MFL · 1 event in 1 county or zone
1 rip current, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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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Open the live radar over this ground
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 6
- 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 Miami, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 12, 8:30 AM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 12, 8:30 AM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
930 AM EDT FRI APR 12 2002
12Z MFL SOUNDING HAS MOISTENED AND DESTABILIZED QUITE A BIT FROM 24
HOURS AGO. 88D INDICATED SHOWERS MOVING FROM THE ATLANTIC INTO SE
FLORIDA... WITH THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION NOW HAVING MOVED NORTH
INTO MARTIN AND ST LUCIE COUNTIES. STILL... PATTERN LOOKS TO BE MORE
ACTIVE TODAY... WITH SEVERAL AREAS OF SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS IN GULF
OF MEXICO UNDERNEATH A MID/UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. MODELS APPEAR NOT TO
KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THIS FEATURE... AND SO THEY GENERALLY APPEAR TO
LEAVE IT ABOUT WHERE IT IS (THE ACTUAL UPPER LOW CENTER IS LIKELY
JUST OFF THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI). WATER VAPOR LOOPS SHOW THE
WEAK CIRCULATION QUITE WELL. FORECASTS HAVE HIGHER POPS OVER THE
INTERIOR AND WEST SECTIONS OF SOUTH FLORIDA BY SATURDAY... AND
HIGHER OVER THE EAST COAST COUNTIES BY SUNDAY. THIS TREND APPEARS
OK... EXCEPT WE MAY NEED A LITTLE HIGHER POPS EVEN ALONG THE EAST
COAST BY SATURDAY INSTEAD OF SUNDAY.
ONLY FORECAST CHANGES WILL BE TO RAISE ATLANTIC WINDS TO 15 TO 20
KNOTS AND PUT IN A SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE CAUTION STATEMENT. THIS WILL
ALSO INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF RIP CURRENTS FROM CHANCE TO LIKELY.
OTHERWISE EXPECT LITTLE CHANGE.
.MIA...NONE.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 12, 8:00 AM EST, 4 hours before
FLZ063-066>075-122200-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
900 AM EDT FRI APR 12 2002
...CHANCE OF AFTERNOON SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS WEST COAST AND
NORTHWEST ZONES THIS AFTERNOON...
...RIP CURRENTS LIKELY ALONG THE SOUTHEAST FLORIDA BEACHES TODAY...
SUFFICIENT ATMOSPHERIC INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE WILL ALLOW SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND SOME THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON IN COLLIER,
GLADES, HENDRY AND THE WESTERN SECTIONS OF PALM BEACH, BROWARD AND
MIAMI DADE COUNTIES. BRIEF HEAVY RAINS MAY OCCUR WITH THIS ACTIVITY
BUT THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE FROM THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
THUNDERSTORMS WHICH WOULD PRODUCE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING.
HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING TO THE NORTH OF THE AREA WILL PRODUCE
EAST WINDS AT 15 TO 20 MPH TODAY ALONG THE BEACHES OF PALM
BEACH...BROWARD...AND MIAMI DADE COUNTIES. THIS WILL RESULT IN RIP
CURRENTS LIKELY FORMING ALONG THE AREA BEACHES ESPECIALLY AT THE
TIME OF LOW TIDE. LOW TIDE TODAY AT MIAMI HARBOR ENTRANCE IS AT 304
PM.
NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED OVER SOUTH FLORIDA TODAY.
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN
MIAMI WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MIA.
Rip Current, Broward
- When
- April 12, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Broward County, Ft Lauderdale
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 6 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 26.152, -80.456 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A 67-year old Canadian visitor drowned in a rip current at an unguarded section of the beach across from 1151 State Road A1A. Six other people were rescued and hospitalized at various times and locations along the surf beaches of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. East winds had increased to 15 to 20 mph after several days of cloudy and rainy weather.
- 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.
- Flooding in Michigan, April 12 to 20, 2002$19 million · 8 events
- Hail in Texas, April 12 to 13, 2002$500,000 · 2.5 in hail · 22 events
- Flood in Wisconsin, April 12 to 19, 2002$1.3 million · 1 event
- Hail in Oklahoma, April 12, 20022 in hail · 28 events
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Indiana, April 12, 20021.75 in hail · 17 events
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Illinois, April 12, 20021.75 in hail · 11 events
- Lightning Strike in Michigan, April 12, 2002$15,000 · 1 event
- Hail in Texas, April 12, 20022.5 in hail · 9 events
- Lightning Strike in Michigan, April 12, 20021 injured · $5,000 · 1 event
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, April 12 to 13, 20021.75 in hail · 8 events
- Hail in Texas, April 12, 20021 in hail · 5 events
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Erie, April 12, 20024 events
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: 5289485.