Rip Current in Guam, February 4, 2007

Name: Rip Current in Guam, February 4, 2007
Start: 2007-02-04T12:00
End: 2007-02-04T12:20
Location: Guam

February 4, 2007 · NWS GUM · 1 event in 1 county or zone

At around 12:00 GST on 4 February, a tourist from Japan drowned while snorkeling after he was swept over the reef at Ritidian Wildlife Refuge on Guam's northern tip.

The toll

Deaths: 0
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 happened

The episode as NWS GUM wrote it up.

At around 12:00 GST on 4 February, a tourist from Japan drowned while snorkeling after he was swept over the reef at Ritidian Wildlife Refuge on Guam's northern tip.

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 Guam wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 3, 6:00 PM UTC, 8 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 3, 6:00 PM UTC, 8 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TIYAN GU
400 AM LST SUN FEB 4 2007

.SYNOPSIS...
TRADE-WIND DISTURBANCE PASSING SOUTH OF GUAM PER 1438Z SATELLITE
IMAGE. ECHO TOPS WITHIN RADAR RANGE AND EXTEND TO 20 KFT. SENSIBLE
WEATHER NIL FROM THIS FEATURE. TO THE NORTH...SHEAR LINE HUNG UP
NEAR PAGAN. NOT MUCH PUSH IN THE PAST 12 HOURS. CIRRUS SOUTH OF 10N
CONTINUES TO THIN AND DISSIPATE AS IT ENCOUNTERS THE SUBTROPICAL
RIDGE PARKED OVER THE MARIANAS. SATELLITE IMAGES SINCE 1438Z
BAD...HUGE LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE POSITION ERRORS. USER BEWARE.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
MINOR TWEAKS MADE TO PREVIOUS PACKAGE BASED ON THE LATEST GFS.
HIGH-LEVEL CLOUD SCENARIO NO LONGER SUPPORTED BY THE MODEL. APPEARS
THE PRESENCE OF THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THE
CIRRUS SOUTH OF THE MARIANAS AT BAY...AS IT HAS FOR MUCH OF THE
WEEK. DO NOT ANTICIPATE ANY TRADE-WIND DISTURBANCES DARTING ACROSS
THE FORECAST AREA EITHER. THAT LEAVES THE SHEAR LINE POISED TO THE
NORTH AS THE MAIN PLAYER THIS FORECAST CYCLE.

LATEST GFS ABOUT 12 HOURS SLOWER WITH ONSET OF THICKER CLOUDS AND
INCREASED SHOWER POTENTIAL ASSOCIATED WITH THE SOUTHWARD SINKING
SHEAR LINE. CONSIDERED SPLITTING THE ZONES. BUT SINCE THE WEATHER
IN QUESTION FALLS WITHIN THE EXTENDED PERIOD AND MODEL RUN-TO-RUN
CONSISTENCY IS LACKING...HAVE DECIDED TO MAINTAIN THE STATUS QUO IN
THE GRIDS. STILL TIME TO FLESH OUT THE DETAILS.

&&

.MARINE...
DECIDED TO SIT ON CAUTION STATEMENT. BORDERLINE HIGH SURF POSSIBLE
BY TUESDAY.

&&

.GUM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GU...NONE.
MARIANAS WATERS...NONE.
&&

HENDRICKS

Event by event

1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.

Rip Current, Guam

When: February 4, 12:00 PM GST to 12:20 PM GST
Where: Guam forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper

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

Every storm in Guam in 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history Warnings in Guam, February 2007

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: 12528.