Rip Current in Florida, September 24, 2010

Name: Rip Current in Florida, September 24, 2010
Start: 2010-09-24T17:30
End: 2010-09-24T17:30
Location: Florida

September 24, 2010 · NWS MFL · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Onshore winds of 15 to 20 mph led to strong rip currents along the Palm Beach County beaches.

Where it happened

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.

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 2
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 MFL wrote it up.

Onshore winds of 15 to 20 mph led to strong rip currents along the Palm Beach County beaches.

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 Miami, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 24, 1:19 PM EST, 4 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 24, 1:19 PM EST, 4 hours 11 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
219 PM EDT FRI SEP 24 2010

...LATE SUMMER TIME WEATHER PATTERN RETURNS TO SOUTH FLORIDA FOR
WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...

.DISCUSSION...
A MID TO UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WAS LOCATED FROM AN
UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO EXTENDING SOUTHEAST
THROUGH THE CWA TO ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE SOUTHERN
BAHAMA ISLANDS. THIS TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WAS HELPING TO GENERATE
SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE CWA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON.

THE TWO UPPER LEVEL LOWS SHOULD SLOWLY DISSIPATE TONIGHT INTO
SATURDAY ALLOWING FOR THE MID TO UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW
PRESSURE TO DISSIPATE OVER SOUTH FLORIDA. THIS WILL KEEP THE
TROPICAL MOISTURE IN PLACE TONIGHT INTO THIS WEEKEND...BUT WILL
HAVE LESS COVERAGE THAN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS. SO WILL CONTINUE
WITH THE NUMEROUS POPS OVER THE CWA THIS AFTERNOON TAPERING DOWN
TO ISOLATED COVERAGE MOST LOCATION TONIGHT...EXCEPT SCATTERED POPS
EAST COAST AREAS. THE POPS THIS WEEKEND WILL BE IN THE SCATTERED
RANGE WITH THE HIGHEST POPS OVER THE INTERIOR AND WEST COAST
AREAS.

AT THE SAME TIME...HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE NORTHWEST
ATLANTIC WATERS THIS WEEKEND...AS TROPICAL STORM MATTHEW IS
FORECAST BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER TO MOVE WEST INTO
CENTRAL AMERICA. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR THE PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER
THE AREA TO RELAX THIS WEEKEND AND ALLOW FOR THE WINDS TO FALL
BELOW 15 MPH FROM THE EASTERLY DIRECTION.

.EXTENDED FORECAST...
THE LONG RANGE MODELS ARE SHOWING THAT THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF
LOW PRESSURE OVER THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES TO CLOSE OFF INTO AN
UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE TENNESSEE VALLEY FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK.
THIS WILL PUSH THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE TO THE SOUTH AND INTO
THE CWA. THEREFORE...SOUTH FLORIDA SHOULD SEE SCATTERED POPS FOR
EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH THE HIGHEST POPS OVER THE LAKE OKEECHOBEE
AREA.

THE WEATHER FOR MIDDLE TO END OF NEXT WEEK WILL ALL DEPEND IF ANY
LOW DEVELOPS IN THE CARIBBEAN SEA LIKE THE LONG RANGES MODELS ARE
SHOWING AT THIS TIME. AT THIS TIME WILL KEEP SCATTERED POPS IN
THE FORECAST WITH EASTERLY WIND FLOW...AND WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR
THE LATEST LONG RANGE MODELS FOR THE MIDDLE TO END OF NEXT WEEK.

RESIDENTS AND VISITORS OF SOUTH FLORIDA NEED TO CONTINUE TO
MONITOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON THE TROPICS FROM THE NATIONAL
HURRICANE CENTER.

&&

.MARINE...
THE BREEZY EASTERLY WINDS OVER THE CWA THIS AFTERNOON WILL DECREASE
TO 15 KNOTS OR LESS LATE TONIGHT INTO THIS WEEKEND. THEREFORE...THE
SEAS WILL BE LESS THAN 6 FEET TONIGHT INTO THIS WEEKEND IN THE
ATLANTIC AND GULF WATERS. SO WILL ONLY CARRY A SCEC FOR THE
ATLANTIC WATERS AND BISCAYNE BAY FOR THIS EVENING.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
THE RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL ALSO REMAIN WELL ABOVE THE 35 PERCENT
CRITICAL VALUE FOR THIS WEEKEND. SO NO PROBLEMS WITH THE FIRE
WEATHER FOR SOUTH FLORIDA THIS WEEKEND.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
WEST PALM BEACH  78  89  77  89 / 30 40 20 40
FORT LAUDERDALE  80  89  80  89 / 30 30 20 30
MIAMI            80  90  79  90 / 30 40 20 40
NAPLES           91  75  92  75 / 60 30 50 30

&&

.MFL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...NONE.
AM...NONE.
GM...NONE.
&&

LONG TERM...54/BNB
SHORT TERM/AVIATION...18/GR

Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 24, 5:00 PM EST, 30 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTH FLORIDA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
600 PM EDT FRI SEP 24 2010

FLZ063-066>075-168-172>174-251300-
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-
600 PM EDT FRI SEP 24 2010

...HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS EAST COAST BEACHES TODAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

RIP CURRENTS: A PERSISTENT EAST WIND OF 15 TO 20 MPH WILL RESULT
IN A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS AT THE ATLANTIC BEACHES THROUGH
THIS EVENING.

THUNDERSTORMS: ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE
LOCAL ATLANTIC WATERS AND PORTIONS OF SOUTH FLORIDA THROUGH THIS EVENING.
THE MAIN IMPACT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING
STRIKES AND BRIEF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

RIP CURRENTS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ALONG THE ATLANTIC BEACHES
THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

TROPICAL STORM MATTHEW WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE WESTWARD ACROSS
CENTRAL AMERICA THIS WEEKEND. THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT LARGE
AMOUNT OF TROPICAL MOISTURE COULD SPREAD NORTH TOWARD THE SOUTH
FLORIDA AREA BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. MONITOR THE LATEST
FORECASTS CONCERNING THIS POTENTIAL.

.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 radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.

Rip Current, Coastal Palm Beach County

When: September 24, 5:30 PM EST
Where: Coastal Palm Beach County forecast zone
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 26.648, -80.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A 15 year old girl and her boyfriend were pulled away from shore by a rip current, however the 16 year old male managed to pull the female back to shore. The girl's 38 year old stepfather was also at the beach in Palm Beach when he was also pulled out 50 yards from shore. A officer and lifeguard pulled the man back to shore. The girl and stepfather were taken to a local hospital and were both later released in good condition.

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 Florida in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, September 2010

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: 259388.