Florida, 2002

Rip Current in Florida, September 22, 2002

September 22, 2002 · NWS TBW · 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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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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 Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 22, 12:50 PM EST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 22, 12:50 PM EST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
150 PM EDT SUN SEP 22 2002

CURRENTLY...VERY SIMILAR DAY AS YESTERDAY WITH SCT SHOWERS RAPIDLY
DEVELOPING OVER THE INTERIOR AND MOVING WEST 15 TO 20 MPH. SHOWERS
SEEM TO BE FOCUSING ON TWO CONFLUENT BANDS...ONE ACROSS
ORANGE/LAKE/SUMTER COUNTIES...THE OTHER ACROSS OKEECHOBEE/HIGHLAND
COUNTIES.

--FCST DISC--
OFFICIAL NHC FORECAST FOR ISIDORE THROUGH LATE TUE IS FOR A SLOW WEST
TRACK TOWARD THE SW GULF/BAY OF CAMPECHE...THEN TURNING NW WED DUE
TO AT LEAST PARTIAL INTERACTION WITH NEXT UPPER TROF OVER THE CENT
U.S. ETA HAS A STRANGE SOLUTION OF DEVELOPING A SFC WAVE (E OF
ISIDORE) OVER THE W CARIB...THEN RAPIDLY MOVING IT N ACROSS CUBA AND
INTO THE SE GULF LATE MON AND EARLY TUE. DESPITE STRONG CONVECTION
CURRENTLY OVER THE W CARIB...WILL DISCOUNT THE ETA...AND GO WITH
WEAKER AVN AND NGM...WHICH SHOW AN OPEN SFC TROF AND SWATH OF HIGHER
MOISTURE TO MOVE TOWARD THE FA MON NIGHT AND TUE. MON SHOULD BE
SIMILAR TO TODAY WITH CHC POPS...THEN INCREASE TO LIKELY BY TUE GIVEN
DEEPER MOISTURE. GRAD STRONG ENOUGH FOR MARGINALLY BREEZY EASTERLY
FLOW MON...WEAKENING BY TUE AS ISIDORE CONTINUES TO MOVE FARTHER W.

--EXTENDED--
WEAK UPPER RIDGING DEVELOPS OVER THE FA THURS AND FRI AS ISIDORE
POSSIBLY MOVES TOWARD THE LA/TX BORDER. LOW LEVEL SE FLOW WITH SCT
AFTN/EVENING CONVECTION. CONFIDENCE BECOME VERY LOW BEYOND FRI
GIVEN UNCERTAINTY OF ISIDORE. EXTRAPOLATING LATEST AVN WOULD IMPLY
EJECTING THE SYSTEM ENE ACROSS THE SE U.S. SAT AND SUN...WITH SSW
LOW LEVEL FLOW DEVELOPING OVER FA. WILL CONTINUE SCT POPS FOR NOW.

--MARINE--
THE MARINE FCST CONTINUES TO BE BIGGEST CHALLENGE. CURRENT OBS
INDICATE ONLY MARGINAL SCEC OFFSHORE...WITH 15 KTS OR LESS NEAR
SHORE AND TPA BAY. WILL GO SCEC ALL AREAS TONIGHT...MAINLY DUE TO
TYPICAL SURGE IN SPEED DUE TO EASTERLY FLOW. WILL TRY EASING OUT
OF ANY HIGHLIGHTS BY TUES AND BEYOND...BUT NOT VERY CERTAIN.

PRELIM S:
BKV 074/091 074/089 3435
TPA 076/091 075/088 3436
GIF 074/092 074/089 2426
SRQ 076/092 075/088 3436
FMY 076/092 075/088 2436=

TBW...SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE CAUTION TONIGHT BONITA BCH TO SUWANNEE
      RVR INCLUDING TPA BAY.

MORALES

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, Manatee

When
September 22, 2:20 PM EST
Where
Manatee County, 2 mi SSE of Anna Maria
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
27.478, -82.357 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A 60 year old male German tourist lost his life as a result of rip currents while swimming with his wife in the Gulf of Mexico. Relatively large waves of three to five feet were found at the Manatee County Public Beach as a result of Hurricane Isidore spinning over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Tides of one to two feet above astronomical normals combined with the wave action to produce rip currents. Lifeguards were flying caution flags warning of rough surf.

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, Manatee2002-09-2260MaleIn 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 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, September 2002

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: 5309560.