High pressure across the eastern United States produced easterly winds and long period swells across the coastal waters of East Central Florida leading to the formation of moderate to strong rip currents. A male swimmer became caught in one of the stronger rip currents and was pulled underneath the water.
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 across the eastern United States produced easterly winds and long period swells across the coastal waters of East Central Florida leading to the formation of moderate to strong rip currents. A male swimmer became caught in one of the stronger rip currents and was pulled underneath the water. A female surfer attempted to rescue the victim but could not locate him in the water. The body of the man was found early the next 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 Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 25, 9:23 AM EST, 2 hours 37 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 923 AM EST SUN DEC 25 2011 .UPDATE... ...MILD CHRISTMAS DAY... TODAY...CANAVERAL MORNING SOUNDING AND VERTICAL WIND PROFILERS SHOW EAST/SOUTHEAST WINDS ABOUT 10 MPH BENEATH SUBSIDENCE INVERSION WHICH WAS AROUND 8000 FEET. PRECIPITABLE WATERS IS AROUND AN INCH SOUTH...BUT A LITTLE OVER 1.3 INCHES IN THE NORTH WHERE REMNANT MOISTURE FROM OLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXISTS. THIS IS SUFFICIENT FOR SHOWERS ALONG ATLANTIC CLOUD LINES. CURRENT FORECAST HAS SLIGHT CHANCE POPS EVERYWHERE EXCEPT 30 ALONG THE VOLUSIA COAST. THERE IS SOME SHADOW EFFECT FROM THE COOLER BAHAMA BANK WATERS IN MARTIN/ST LUCIE...BUT DO NOT SEE ENOUGH REASON TO MAKE ANY CHANGES TO POPS. MAX TEMPS SHOULD REACH 80 ACROSS THE INTERIOR AND EVEN SOME SPOTS ALONG THE SOUTH COAST. THE VOLUSIA COAST MAY BE HELD TO THE MID 70S BY ONSHORE FLOW AND CLOUDS. THINK THAT THERE WILL BE ENOUGH INTERVALS OF SUNSHINE TO BACK OFF MOSTLY CLOUDY WORDING IN THE NORTH. && .AVIATION... MAINLY VFR. SLIGHT CHANCE MVFR IN SHOWERS ALONG THE COAST EXCEPT KFPR-KSUA. WOULD NOT EVEN BE SURPRISED TO SEE A FEW SHOWERS REACH INLAND TO THE I-4 CORRIDOR. CONFIDENCE TOO LOW TO CARRY VICINITY SHOWER BEYOND A FEW HOURS THOUGH. && .MARINE... TODAY...LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS EAST/SOUTHEAST WINDS 10 KNOTS OR LESS...EXCEPT 10-15 KNOTS INDICATED OFFSHORE NORTH OF THE CAPE. SEAS ARE RUNNING A LITTLE ABOVE WHAT THESE WIND SPEEDS WOULD INDICATE DUE TO SOME 8-10 SECOND EAST SWELL. LITTLE CHANGE NEEDED TO PREVIOUS FORECAST. && .MLB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. AM...NONE. && AVIATION/FORECAST UPDATES...LASCODY IMPACT WEATHER UPDATES...BRAGAW
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 423 AM EST SUN DEC 25 2011 AMZ550-552-555-570-572-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141- 144-147-251500- 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- 423 AM EST SUN DEC 25 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. .RIP CURRENT IMPACT... LONG PERIOD EASTERLY SWELLS WILL PRODUCE A MODERATE THREAT FOR RIP CURRENTS AT THE BEACHES TODAY. ANYONE ENTERING THE CHILLY SURF SHOULD DO SO NEAR A LIFEGUARD. .DENSE FOG/SMOKE IMPACT... LIGHT TO CALM WINDS AFTER MIDNIGHT WILL HELP AREAS OF FOG TO FORM AWAY FROM THE COAST LATE TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. LONG PERIOD SWELLS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE THE RIP CURRENT RISK THROUGH THE FIRST PART OF THE UPCOMING WEEK. ANOTHER COOL FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH CENTRAL FLORIDA TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING. WINDS WILL INCREASE AHEAD OF THE FRONT AND A BAND OF SHOWERS WITH ISOLATED STORMS ARE EXPECTED. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING ACROSS THE DEEP SOUTH AND GULF OF MEXICO IS FORECAST DURING MID WEEK...WHICH WILL CAUSE WINDS TO DIMINISH. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY. WIMMER
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A 26 year old male swimmer was caught in a strong rip current and pulled underneath the water, causing him to drown. St. Lucie County Sheriff’s deputies found the man's body early the next morning. One other man was also caught in a rip current, but he escaped and survived.
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, St. Lucie | 2011-12-25 | 26 | 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, December 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: 352735.