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.
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.
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 May 16, 1:00 PM EST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 200 PM EDT SUN MAY 16 2004 .DISCUSSION...UPPER RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC WELL ANCHORED SO IT WILL HELP KEEP DECENT UPPER TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN U.S. THROUGH THIS FORECAST PERIOD. THIS WILL MEAN AT LEAST AN UPPER RIDGE WILL REMAIN OVER THE WESTERN GULF OF MEXICO ALSO. UPPER RIDGE OVER THE BAHAMAS ALSO SEEMS SET IN PLACE WITH BROAD ILL-DEFINED UPPER TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO DOWN INTO THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN. WITH LITTLE TO MOVE THOSE WESTERN FEATURES IT WOULD APPEAR OUR ZONES WILL TRY TO BE UNDER AN UPPER TROUGH WHOSE TROUGH LINE WILL BE SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN. OVERALL THIS FEATURE SHOULD ALLOW US TO SLOWLY BECOME MORE UNSTABLE AND MOIST. THIS MORNING ALL OBSERVATIONS HAVE US IN DEEPER MOISTURE. YOU CAN STILL SEE SOME DRIER AIR OVER THE ATLANTIC ON THE GOES SOUNDERS HOWEVER THIS SEEMS TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER RIDGE AND IS NOT MOVING WEST. SO OUR ATLANTIC SURFACE RIDGE SHOULD CONTINUE IN PLACE THROUGH THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. IT SHOULD EVENTUALLY WEAKEN SOME UNDER THE UPPER TROUGH BY THE NEXT WEEKEND. AND DESPITE THE SURFACE TROUGH THAT HAS BEEN FORECAST EAST OF THE BAHAMAS NEXT WEEK THIS FEATURE WOULD BE UNDER WHERE THE UPPER RIDGE SHOULD REMAIN ANCHORED SO WILL GO WITH A FORECAST THAT MOVES ALL OF THE TROUGHINESS FURTHER WEST AND KEEP THE WINDS LIGHTER AND THE MOISTURE OVER THE PENINSULA. IN THE SHORT TERM THIS PATTERN KEEPS US IN THE NIGHT/MORNING PATTERN FOR THE EASTERN ZONES AND AFTERNOON IN THE WEST. AS THE GRADIENT WEAKENS LATE IN THE WEEK AND THE MOISTURE REMAINS GOOD SHOULD SEE A BETTER CHANCE THROUGHOUT OUR ZONES ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTERNOON. WILL ALSO BE MORE LIKELY TO BE THUNDERSTORMS. && .MARINE...BOATERS WILL STILL HAVE PROBLEMS UNTIL THE ATLANTIC RIDGE WEAKENS LATE IN THE WEEK. BASED UPON WHAT THE OBSERVATIONS HAVE BEEN SHOWING IT LOOKS LIKE SMALL CRAFT CAUTIONS WILL BE SUFFICIENT. && .FIRE WEATHER...DRYER OVER INTERIOR AND SOUTHWEST COAST...BUT ATLANTIC MOISTURE WILL KEEP AFTERNOON RHS ABOVE CRITICAL THRESHOLDS EVERYWHERE. WEAK SEA BREEZE LIKELY AROUND NAPLES. GOOD DISPERSION WITH FRESH TRANSPORT WINDS OVER EASTERN AREAS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WEST PALM BEACH 75 85 75 85 / 20 20 20 20 FORT LAUDERDALE 75 85 75 85 / 20 20 20 20 MIAMI 74 85 75 86 / 20 20 20 20 NAPLES 70 89 70 88 / 10 30 10 20 && .MFL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. AM...NONE. GM...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 516 AM EDT SUN MAY 16 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA FLZ068-072-074-162200- BROWARD METROPOLITAN-DADE METROPOLITAN-PALM BEACH EASTERN- 516 AM EDT SUN MAY 16 2004 .DAY ONE...TODAY ...HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS EAST COAST BEACHES TODAY... STRONG HIGH PRESSURE OFF THE FLORIDA EAST COAST WILL KEEP EAST WINDS 17 TO 22 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS ALONG THE EAST COAST BEACHES TODAY. THEREFORE...THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS AT THE BEACHES OF PALM BEACH...BROWARD...AND MIAMI-DADE COUNTIES TODAY. NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND DETAILED GRAPHICS CAN BE FOUND ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEB SITE AT MIAMIWEATHER.INFO. FOR INFORMATION IN SPANISH, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT ELTIEMPOENMIAMI.INFO. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY ...HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS THROUGH MIDWEEK ALONG EAST COAST... THE STRONG HIGH PRESSURE OFF THE FLORIDA EAST COAST WILL REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK ALLOWING EAST WINDS TO BE AROUND 20 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. THEREFORE...THE HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE SOUTH FLORIDA EAST COAST BEACHES. NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. FLZ063-066-067-069>071-073-075-162200- EASTERN COLLIER-GLADES-HENDRY-MAINLAND MONROE-PALM BEACH WESTERN- WESTERN BROWARD-WESTERN COLLIER-WESTERN DADE- 516 AM EDT SUN MAY 16 2004 .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND DETAILED GRAPHICS CAN BE FOUND ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEB SITE AT MIAMIWEATHER.INFO. FOR INFORMATION IN SPANISH, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT ELTIEMPOENMIAMI.INFO. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A 20-year-old man trying to rescue his three children, who were caught in a rip current, nearly drowned. He was treated at a hospital. The children were unharmed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, May 2004
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: 5394553.