High pressure off the North Carolina coast produced onshore flow over the east coast of Florida. The resulting swell produced dangerous rip currents in Volusia County.
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 episode as NWS MLB wrote it up.
High pressure off the North Carolina coast produced onshore flow over the east coast of Florida. The resulting swell produced dangerous rip currents in Volusia County.
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 Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 26, 8:15 AM EST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 915 AM EDT SAT APR 26 2008 .DISCUSSION...HIGH PRESSURE CENTER OFFSHORE SC WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE A MODERATE EAST TO SOUTHEAST FLOW TODAY AND TONIGHT. MAX TEMPERATURE GRID SHOWING A COASTAL INLAND SPLIT. WILL UPDATE ZONES FOR AFTERNOON WINDS. && .AVIATION...VFR. && .MARINE...BUOYS RECORDING ESE WINDS AROUND 10 KNOTS AND 3 TO 5 FOOT LONG PERIOD (SWELL) SEAS. NO SIGNIFICANT SYNOPTIC CHANGES EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON. WILL CONTINUE TO HEADLINE EXERCISE CAUTION FOR SEAS BEYOND 20 MILES OF SHORE. && .FIRE WEATHER... PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...EVEN WITH ONSHORE FLOW...DRY AIR WILL MIX DOWNWARD ACROSS INTERIOR COUNTIES DURING THE AFTERNOON SIMILAR TO RECENT DAYS. MODEL GUIDANCE SEEMS TO DEPICT THIS SCENARIO BETTER THAN PAST FEW DAYS...BUT STILL SHAVED INTERIOR DEWPOINTS A FEW DEGREES LOWER DURING MAX HEATING. HAVE DISCOUNTED LOCAL 8-KM WRF AS AN OUTLIER WITH FORECAST OF LOW-MID 60 DEWPOINTS ACROSS ALL BUT LAKE COUNTY THIS AFTERNOON. END RESULT IS MIN RH DURATION APPROACHING RED FLAG CRITERIA ACROSS INTERIOR. HAVE DECIDED TO HOLD OFF ON WARNING AS 4 PLUS HOURS OF 35 PERCENT SHOULD NOT BE WIDESPREAD...BUT A FEW SPOTS MAY REACH MINIMAL CRITERIA. EXPECT MID 40 PERCENT MIN RH ACROSS INTERIOR COUNTIES SUN/MON WITH CHANCE FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS/STORMS MONDAY AHEAD OF COLD FRONT. SIGNIFICANT DRYING EXPECTED BEHIND FRONT...WITH POTENTIAL RED FLAG RH CONDITIONS TUE/WED...ESPECIALLY INLAND. && WIMMER/GLITTO
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 1102 AM EDT SAT APR 26 2008 AMZ550-552-555-570-572-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141- 144-147-270000- COASTAL WATERS FROM FLAGLER BEACH TO VOLUSIA BREVARD COUNTY LINE OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM VOLUSIA BREVARD COUNTY LINE TO SEBASTIAN INLET OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM SEBASTIAN INLET TO JUPITER INLET OUT 20 NM- WATERS FROM FLAGLER BEACH TO VOLUSIA BREVARD COUNTY LINE 20 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE- WATERS FROM VOLUSIA BREVARD COUNTY LINE TO SEBASTIAN INLET 20 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE- WATERS FROM SEBASTIAN INLET TO JUPITER INLET 20 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE- INLAND VOLUSIA-NORTHERN LAKE-ORANGE-SEMINOLE-SOUTHERN BREVARD- OSCEOLA-INDIAN RIVER-OKEECHOBEE-ST. LUCIE-MARTIN-COASTAL VOLUSIA- SOUTHERN LAKE-NORTHERN BREVARD- 1102 AM EDT SAT APR 26 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ...RIP CURRENT IMPACT... LATE MORNING CONVERSATIONS WITH AREA LIFEGUARDS AND BEACH PATROL PERSONNEL HAVE INDICATED THE POTENTIAL FOR A HIGH THREAT OF RIP CURRENTS DURING THE AFTERNOON OUTGOING TIDE. BEACH PATROL AND LIFEGUARDS REPORTED SEVERAL RIP CURRENT RESCUES FRIDAY AFTERNOON WITH THE SAME OCEAN CONDITIONS. CHECK WITH LIFE GUARDS FOR LOCAL ADVICE AND USE EXTRA CAUTION IF ENTERING THE SURF TODAY. ...WIND AND SEA IMPACT... WINDS HAVE RELAXED OVER THE ATLANTIC...HOWEVER AN EAST SWELL WILL CONTINUE TODAY. COMBINED SEAS...MAINLY DUE TO THE SWELL...WILL AVERAGE 4 TO 6 FEET BEYOND 20 MILES OF THE COAST. SMALL CRAFT OPERATORS SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION ACROSS THE OFFSHORE WATERS. ...FIRE WEATHER IMPACT... RELATIVE HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL DROP TO NEAR 40 PERCENT ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL FLORIDA INTERIOR THIS AFTERNOON. A SLIGHT THREAT WILL EXIST FOR WILDFIRES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY. WIMMER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A 19 year old Florida man drowned in a rip current at Daytona Beach. Two men were caught in a rip current, but one man slipped beneath the water before life guards could reach him.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Current, Volusia | 2008-04-26 | 19 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, April 2008
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: 102091.