Lingering long period swells associated with departing Hurricane Irene produced strong rip currents along the east central Florida coast. A surfer at New Smyrna Beach was knocked over by a large breaking wave, became unconscious, and was pulled from the water by other surfers.
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.
Lingering long period swells associated with departing Hurricane Irene produced strong rip currents along the east central Florida coast. A surfer at New Smyrna Beach was knocked over by a large breaking wave, became unconscious, and was pulled from the water by other surfers. CPR was performed, but he was pronounced dead a short time later at a local hospital.
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 Aug 27, 8:31 AM EST, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
931 AM EDT SAT AUG 27 2011
.DISCUSSION...
...STRONG AND DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS EXPECTED ALONG THE BEACHES
TODAY...
A WEAK VORT MAX MOVING THROUGH THE AREA GENERATED A FEW SHOWERS
AND STORMS THAT MOVED OFFSHORE FROM THE CAPE THIS MORNING.
OTHERWISE WATER VAPOR IMAGERY AND MORNING SOUNDING FROM
TAMPA/TALLAHASSEE CONTINUE TO SHOW RELATIVELY DRY MID TO UPPER
LEVEL AIRMASS INTO FLORIDA. THIS WILL KEEP RAIN CHANCES LIMITED
WITH ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND STORMS INTO THIS
AFTERNOON. BREEZY WESTERLY WINDS WILL PREVENT THE EAST COAST SEA
BREEZE FROM DEVELOPING TODAY. THIS WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO
BECOME QUITE HOT THIS AFTERNOON WITH HIGHS IN THE MID TO UPPER 90S
AND HEAT INDEX VALUES REACHING AROUND 105 DEGREES.
THIS DRIER WEATHER AND ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY LEAD
TO MANY BEACH GOERS TODAY. HOWEVER LINGERING SWELLS LEFT OVER FROM
HURRICANE IRENE WILL POSE A HIGH RISK FOR STRONG AND DANGEROUS RIP
CURRENTS ALONG AREA BEACHES THROUGH THIS EVENING. HAVE ISSUED A
RIP CURRENT STATEMENT THIS MORNING FOR THIS HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK.
&&
.AVIATION...VFR. DRIER AIRMASS OVER THE AREA WILL LIMIT ANY
SHOWER/STORM DEVELOPMENT INTO THIS AFTERNOON. IF ANY ISOLATED
CONVECTION CAN FORM TEMPO IFR/MVFR CONDS CAN BE EXPECTED. WILL
LEAVE ANY VCTS/TEMPO GROUP MENTION OUT OF THE TAFS FOR NOW THOUGH
DUE TO THE LOW RAIN CHANCES. WESTERLY WINDS WILL BECOME BREEZY
THIS AFT UP TO 15 TO 20 KTS.
&&
.MARINE...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS FOR ALL OF THE OFFSHORE
WATERS AND ALSO THE NEARSHORE WATERS OF THE TREASURE COAST FOR
W/SW WINDS NEAR 20 KNOTS AND SEAS 7 FEET OR HIGHER. SMALL CRAFT
SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION OVER THE NEARSHORE WATERS OF BREVARD AND
VOLUSIA COUNTIES FOR BREEZY CONDITIONS AND SEAS 4 TO 6 FEET.
&&
.CLIMATE...HOT WESTERLY FLOW TODAY MAY PUT A RECORD HIGH OR TWO IN
JEOPARDY. RECORD HIGHS FOR SATURDAY AUGUST 27TH ARE AS FOLLOWS:
LOCATION MAX YEAR(S)
DAYTONA BEACH 101 1938
ORLANDO 97 1914, 1920, 1943
MELBOURNE 98 1938
VERO BEACH 94 1966, 1995
&&
.MLB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...NONE.
AM...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM EDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR 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 SEBASTIAN INLET TO JUPITER
INLET 20 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE-WATERS FROM VOLUSIA BREVARD
COUNTY LINE TO SEBASTIAN INLET 20 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE.
&&
WEITLICH/LASCODYHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 455 AM EDT SAT AUG 27 2011 AMZ550-552-555-570-572-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141- 144-147-271500- 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- 455 AM EDT SAT AUG 27 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. .THUNDERSTORM IMPACT... DRIER WESTERLY FLOW WILL ACT TO INHIBIT THE EAST COAST SEA BREEZE TODAY AND LIMIT STORM CHANCES. ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL MOVE QUICKLY TOWARD THE EAST. THE MAIN THREATS FROM STORMS WILL BE DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES AND GUSTY WINDS. .EXCESSIVE HEAT IMPACT... TEMPERATURES CLIMBING INTO THE MID TO UPPER 90S COUPLED WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL PRODUCE HEAT INDEX VALUES UP TO 102 TO 107 THIS AFTERNOON. IF YOU PLAN TO BE OUTDOORS...DRINK PLENTY OF WATER AND TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS IN THE SHADE. .RIP CURRENT IMPACT... HOT TEMPERATURES AND LOW RAIN CHANCES WILL MAKE GOING INTO THE OCEAN TEMPTING TODAY. HOWEVER...THE DANGER FOR STRONG RIP CURRENTS REMAINS HIGH. BEACHGOERS ARE URGED TO CHECK CONDITIONS WITH LOCAL BEACH PATROLS OR LIFEGUARDS BEFORE ENTERING THE SURF TODAY. FOR YOUR SAFETY...DO NOT ENTER THE SURF IF NO LIFEGUARDS ARE PRESENT. .WIND AND SEA IMPACT... LARGE SWELLS FROM IRENE WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY DECLINE THROUGH TONIGHT. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR THE EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA OFFSHORE WATERS AND NEAR SHORE WATERS SOUTH OF SEBASTIAN INLET. SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION ON THE NEAR SHORE WATERS NORTH OF SEBASTIAN FOR WESTERLY WINDS OF 15 TO 20 KNOTS AND SEAS UP TO 6 FEET. .MARINE THUNDERSTORM GUST IMPACT... A FEW STORMS WILL MOVE OFFSHORE FROM THE MAINLAND...WITH CLOUD TO WATER LIGHTNING STRIKES AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 35 KNOTS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. RIP CURRENT HAZARDS...HOT TEMPERATURES AND LIMITED RAIN CHANCES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY BEFORE CONDITIONS TREND BACK CLOSER TO NORMAL TUESDAY THROUGH THE LATE WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY. GLITTO
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
A 55 year male surfer was knocked over by rough surf and hit his head on his surf board. He became unconscious, and drowned.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Surf, Volusia | 2011-08-27 | 55 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, August 2011
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: 331487.