Rip Current, Guam
- When
- April 1, 12:15 PM SST to 12:40 PM SST
- Where
- Guam County, Central Portion
- Injuries
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
Rip Current in Guam, April 1, 2002
Lifeguard Frank San Nicolas said that around 1220 he pulled a 65 year old woman and her 26 year old son to shore at Ypao Beach in Tumon Bay. San Nicolas said he spotted the victims struggling in the water about 30 feet from shore.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 2
- 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 GUA wrote it up.
Lifeguard Frank San Nicolas said that around 1220 he pulled a 65 year old woman and her 26 year old son to shore at Ypao Beach in Tumon Bay. San Nicolas said he spotted the victims struggling in the water about 30 feet from shore. They were in water about 8 feet deep and in an area of strong currents. They panicked in the strong currents. The mother grabbed her son and they both sank. Both victims were conscious and responsive by the time Fire Department medics arrived.
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 GUA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 1, 3:51 AM SST, 8 hours 24 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 1, 3:51 AM SST, 8 hours 24 minutes before
AREA SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TIYAN GU 1 AM GUAM LST TUE APR 2 2002 WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC BETWEEN EQUATOR AND 25N FROM 130E TO 180. A MONSOON TROUGH EXTENDS FROM 3N130E TO A WEAK CIRCULATION NEAR 5N148E TO EQ158E. SURFACE WIND FLOW CONVERGENCE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE TROUGH IS GENERATING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS BETWEEN 3N AND 7N FROM 134E TO 140E AND BETWEEN THE EQUATOR AND 11N FROM 140E TO 164E. CLOUDS AND SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH A COLD FRONT/SHEAR LINE EXTEND ALONG AND UP TO 120 MILES NORTH OF A LINE FROM 25N156E TO 18N138E. CONVERGENT TRADE WIND FLOW IS PRODUCING SCATTERED SHOWERS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN MARSHALL ISLANDS BETWEEN EQUATOR AND 10N FROM 162E TO 180.
Event by event
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Avalanche in Alaska, April 1, 2002
- Drought in Georgia, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in Colorado, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in New Mexico, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in New Jersey, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in Georgia, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in New York, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in Pennsylvania, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in South Carolina, April 1 to 30, 2002
- High Wind in Hawaii, April 1 to 2, 2002
- Drought in Connecticut, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in Texas, April 1 to 30, 2002
More
Every storm in Guam in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Guam, April 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: 5284600.