Rip Current, Guam
- When
- January 27, 9:30 AM SST to 10:00 AM SST
- Where
- Guam County, Ritidian Point
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
Rip Current in Guam, January 27, 2002
At 930 am a report of a distressed swimmer was made to 911. Rescue units were immediately dispatched and the man was located off the reef between Ritidian and Urunao.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 1
- 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.
At 930 am a report of a distressed swimmer was made to 911. Rescue units were immediately dispatched and the man was located off the reef between Ritidian and Urunao. The man was trying to maneuver his outrigger canoe through a narrow, treacherous channel at the northern end of Urunao Beach, which resulted in the canoe turning over after which he was swept out. At about 1005 am the man was hoisted to safety by the HC-5 Unit and then transported to the Naval Hospital in Agana Heights. He was treated at the hospital and was released.
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 Jan 27, 4:02 AM SST, 5 hours 28 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 27, 4:02 AM SST, 5 hours 28 minutes before
AREA SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TIYAN GU 1 AM GUAM LST MON JAN 28 2002 WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC BETWEEN EQUATOR AND 25N FROM 130E TO 180. A COLD FRONT EXTENDS FROM 25N147E TO 21N140E AND FURTHER SOUTHWEST AS A SHEAR LINE TO 19N130E. ASSOCIATED RAIN SHOWERS ARE OCCURRING WITHIN 80 MILES OF THIS BOUNDARY. AN AREA OF LOW CLOUDS AND RAIN BEHIND THE FRONT LIES NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM 22N130E TO 25N140E. AN INVERTED TROUGH STRETCHES FROM 1N165E TO 5N165E. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TROUGH ARE LOCATED BETWEEN 1N AND 5N FROM 163E TO 170E. TRADE WIND CONVERGENCE IS GENERATING SCATTERED SHOWERS BETWEEN 5N AND 9N FROM 164E TO 180. A NEAR-EQUATORIAL TROUGH STRETCHES FROM 1N140E TO THE EQUATOR AT 163E. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS NEAR THE TROUGH ARE LOCATED BETWEEN THE EQUATOR AND 4N FROM 144E TO 163E.
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
- Winter Storm in Utah, January 27 to 29, 2002
- Heat in New Jersey, January 27 to 30, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Washington, January 27, 2002
- Heat in Pennsylvania, January 27 to 30, 2002
- Winter Weather in California, January 27 to 29, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Nevada, January 27 to 28, 2002
- Heat in Maryland, January 27 to 30, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, January 27 to 28, 2002
- Heat in Delaware, January 27 to 30, 2002
- High Surf in Hawaii, January 27 to 31, 2002
- Ice Storm in Alaska, January 27 to 28, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Montana, January 27, 2002
More
Every storm in Guam in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Guam, January 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: 5279914.