East winds of 15-20 mph created ideal conditions for rip current formation along the southeast Florida Atlantic beaches.
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 MFL wrote it up.
East winds of 15-20 mph created ideal conditions for rip current formation along the southeast Florida Atlantic beaches.
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 Mar 7, 9:20 AM EST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 920 AM EST SAT MAR 7 2009 .UPDATE... VERY LITTLE CHANGE TO FORECAST PACKAGE FOR REMAINDER OF TODAY AS HIGH PRESSURE AND EASTERLY FLOW FIRMLY IN CONTROL. ONLY VISIBLE CHANGES WILL BE TO REMOVE TIMING OF CLOUD COVER AND WINDS. /MOLLEDA && .AVIATION...VFR AND DRY WEATHER WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE PERIOD UNDER A CONTINUED EASTERLY WIND FLOW. BRIEF PERIODS OF BKN040 WILL OCCUR SE COAST THIS MORNING. /DG && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 252 AM EST SAT MAR 7 2009/ LITTLE CHANGES EXPECTED IN CURRENT FORECAST TREND WITH DEEP LAYER RIDGE BECOMING WELL ESTABLISHED ACROSS THE PENINSULA FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. IN FACT, WATER VAPOR IMAGERY CLEARLY SHOWS THE MID LEVEL RIDGE IN PLACE. SURFACE RIDGE STRETCHES FROM NORTH OF THE BAHAMAS TO NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA AND THIS WILL ALSO CHANGE VERY LITTLE ALTHOUGH THE RIDGE WILL NUDGE SOUTH OVER THE WEEKEND WHICH WILL RELAX THE GRADIENT SOMEWHAT FOR SLIGHTLY WEAKER LOW LEVEL EAST FLOW. STRONG SUBSIDENCE WILL CONTINUE AS WELL WITH MID LEVEL RIDGE IN PLACE AND THIS WILL KEEP ANY RAIN CHANCES AT BARE MINIMUMS. BY THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD, BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF WANT TO WEAKEN THE RIDGE AS SEVERAL SHORT WAVE TROUGHS ROTATE ACROSS THE TOP OF IT BUT AS IS OFTEN THE CASE LONG RANGE MODELS ERODE THESE STRONG RIDGES TOO FAST SO TIME WILL TELL. BUT AT ANY RATE, ANY RELIEF FROM THE PROLONGED DRY SPELL IS NOT IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. && .MARINE...EAST TO SOUTHEAST WIND OF 10 TO 15 KT THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH SEAS GENERALLY 4 FT OR LESS. && .FIRE WEATHER...LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY INCREASE WITH TEMPERATURES ALSO INCREASING. THIS WILL RESULT IN RH VALUES THIS AFTERNOON DROPPING BELOW 40 PERCENT OVER THE NORTHWEST INTERIOR ZONES BUT REMAIN ABOVE 35 PERCENT. THE UPWARD TREND IN THESE READINGS WILL CONTINUE INTO NEXT WEEK. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WEST PALM BEACH 78 63 79 64 / 0 - - - FORT LAUDERDALE 78 67 80 68 / 0 - - - MIAMI 78 65 80 66 / 0 - - - NAPLES 81 60 82 61 / 0 - - - && .MFL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. AM...NONE. GM...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTH FLORIDA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 325 AM EST SAT MAR 7 2009 FLZ063-066>075-168-172>174-080400- GLADES-HENDRY-INLAND PALM BEACH-METRO PALM BEACH-COASTAL COLLIER- INLAND COLLIER-INLAND BROWARD-METRO BROWARD-INLAND MIAMI DADE- METRO MIAMI DADE-MAINLAND MONROE-COASTAL PALM BEACH- COASTAL BROWARD-COASTAL MIAMI DADE-FAR SOUTH MIAMI DADE- 325 AM EST SAT MAR 7 2009 ...HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS BROWARD AND MIAMI-DADE BEACHES... ...MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS AT THE PALM BEACHES... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT RIP CURRENTS: AN EAST WIND NEAR 15 MPH WILL PREVAIL ALONG THE PALM BEACH COAST AND 15 TO 20 MPH ALONG THE BROWARD AND MIAMI-DADE COAST. THIS WILL RESULT IN A MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS AT THE BEACHES OF PALM BEACH COUNTY WITH A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS ALONG THE BROWARD AND MIAMI-DADE COAST. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 10 TO 15 MPH WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE LOCAL WATERS THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK AHEAD. THIS WILL CONTINUE THE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS ALONG THE ATLANTIC BEACHES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. FOR MORE INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI WEBSITE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/MIAMI.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A 41-year-old Pennsylvania man drowned off Fort Lauderdale Beach as a result of a rip current. The man was swimming near 1735 Atlantic Blvd when he was caught by a rip current.
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, Coastal Broward County | 2009-03-07 | 41 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, March 2009
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: 161927.