Life guards rescued over 200 people along the Atlantic coast of South Florida during this late July week. The rip currents were created by persistent and strong east winds caused by high pressure north and east of the area.
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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.
Life guards rescued over 200 people along the Atlantic coast of South Florida during this late July week. The rip currents were created by persistent and strong east winds caused by high pressure north and east of the area. Wind gusts up to 44 MPH were noted during this event which peaked between July 20th and 22nd. These winds also caused rough seas on the local Atlantic waters.
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 Jul 20, 6:44 AM EST, 16 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 744 AM EDT TUE JUL 20 2010 .AVIATION... WDLY SCT SHRA MOVG RPDLY WNW OVR ATLC AND ONSHR. E CST TERMINALS WILL HAVE VCSH IN TAFS. XPCT VRY BRIEF MVFR CIG/VSBY AS SHRA PASS BUT DUE TO SHRA MVMNT OF 20-25 KTS XPCT NO AMDS ATTM. SFC WNDS E-ESE ARND 10 KTS WITH OCNL G20 KTS BUT G>25 KTS PSBL IN SHRA. AFT 13Z E WND BCMG ESE 14-18G25 KTS THRU 22Z THEN WNDS DCRG SOMEWHAT. AT KAPF WNDS E 5-7 KTS BCMG AFT 14Z E 10-12 KTS WITH GUSTS ARND 20 KTS. ISOLD TSRA PSBL W COAST AFT 18Z BUT ONLY CB REMARK IN KAPF TAF ATTM. JR/DD && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 440 AM EDT TUE JUL 20 2010/ DISCUSSION...HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS STRETCHED FROM THE ATLANTIC INTO N FL THIS MORNING KEEPING A FAIRLY TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE LOCAL AREA. A DRIER AIRMASS CAN ALSO BE NOTED ON WV IMAGERY OVER THE NORTHERN BAHAMAS. THE SAL IS ALSO EXPECTED TO MOVE BACK INTO S FL AND REMAIN IN PLACE FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS SUPPRESSING CONVECTION. THIS SET-UP WILL RESULT IN LOW CHANCES FOR RAIN ACROSS THE AREA, A HIGH RISK FOR RIP CURRENTS ALONG THE ATLANTIC BEACHES, AND NEAR RECORD BREAKING HEAT ALONG THE GULF COAST INTO THURSDAY. FAST MOVING SHOWERS WITH LOW OVERALL COVERAGE WILL RESULT IN MANY EASTERN PLACES RECEIVING T AMOUNTS OF RAINFALL THIS MORNING, BUT 20% WILL COVER THE DAY... THE PRECIP WILL THEN SHIFT WESTWARD INTO THE AFTERNOON. THE FAST EAST FLOW WILL ALSO KEEP THE SEA BREEZE FROM ORGANIZING MINIMIZING CONVERGENCE, AND MAXIMIZING AFTERNOON TEMPS THROUGH MID WEEK. FRIDAY INTO THE WEEKEND... A TROPICAL WAVE CURRENTLY NEAR PUERTO RICO WILL CONTINUE WEST AND POSSIBLY MOVE THROUGH THE REGION FRI OR SAT. MODELS DIVERGE ON THE SOLUTION WITH THE GFS KEEPING A LOW EAST OF FL DRIVING DRY AIR DOWN THE PENINSULA AND THE NAM KEEPING A WEAK LOW SOUTH OF THE AREA AND OVER THE STRAITS WITH A BIG INC IN MOISTURE OVER S FL... THE ECMWF IS ROUGHLY THE SAME AS THE NAM. KEPT IN LINE WITH THE LAST TWO AS THIS ALSO SHOWS MORE CONTINUITY WITH THE PAST GFS RUNS, BUT SCT POPS MAY STILL BE UNDER DONE. MARINE...A FAIRLY TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL REMAIN ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE COMING WEEKEND WITH EAST WINDS OF 15 TO 20 KNOTS ACROSS MUCH OF THE COASTAL WATERS. ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS OF MIAMI-DADE CO WINDS MAY BE VERY CLOSE TO SCA CONDITIONS TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. WAVES IN THE GULF STREAM OFF OF MIAMI-DADE WILL ALSO INCREASE INTO THE 4 TO 6 FEET RANGE, BUT REMAIN SLIGHTLY LESS ELSEWHERE. FIRE WEATHER...NO PROBLEMS OR CONCERNS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WEST PALM BEACH 91 81 90 81 / 20 10 10 10 FORT LAUDERDALE 90 83 91 83 / 20 10 10 10 MIAMI 91 82 91 82 / 20 10 10 10 NAPLES 95 78 96 78 / 20 10 20 10 && .MFL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. AM...NONE. GM...NONE. && LONG TERM...57/DG SHORT TERM/AVIATION...70/DD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTH FLORIDA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 750 AM EDT TUE JUL 20 2010 FLZ063-066>075-168-172>174-210400- 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- 750 AM EDT TUE JUL 20 2010 ...DANGEROUS, LIFE-THREATENING RIP CURRENTS ATLANTIC BEACHES... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT RIP CURRENTS: A PERSISTENT EAST WIND OF 15 TO 20 MPH WILL RESULT IN A CONTINUATION OF DANGEROUS AND LIFE THREATENING RIP CURRENTS ALONG THE ATLANTIC BEACHES OF PALM BEACH, BROWARD AND MIAMI DADE COUNTIES. SWIMMING IS NOT RECOMMENDED. THUNDERSTORMS: ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MAY OCCUR THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING, MOST FOCUSED ACROSS THE INTERIOR AND GULF COAST. OCCASIONAL CLOUD TO SURFACE LIGHTNING STRIKES, WIND GUSTS TO 35 MPH, AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A PERSISTENT BREEZY ONSHORE WIND FLOW ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST WILL CONTINUE TO RESULT IN STRONG, DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS AT THE ATLANTIC BEACHES OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. THERE IS A CHANCE OF MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH FLORIDA THROUGH THE PERIOD. .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. GREGORIA
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
Miami Beach Ocean Rescue saved the lives of 66 people during the period of July 20 through the 22nd. No serious injuries were reported. 2 children were also rescued at Haulover Beach.
Life guards at Fort Lauderdale rescued 116 people over a three-day period, with an additional 8 at Hallandale Beach. Two of the rescued people at Fort Lauderdale were taken to Broward General Hospital. At an unguarded beach in Hallandale, two people were helped ashore, however one lady went under water for near 20 minutes and suffered from cardiac arrest. She did regain a pulse and was in critical condition at Aventura Medical Center.
Life guards at Palm Beach County beaches rescued 26 people from rip currents from the 20th through the 22nd.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, July 2010
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: 251195, 251211, 251221.