South Carolina, 2013

Rip Current in South Carolina, July 14, 2013

July 14, 2013 · NWS CHS · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Frequent gusts of 25 knots with 4 to 6 foot seas produced Rip Currents at Fripp Island. 3 people died due to drowning.

The toll

Deaths
3
Injuries
0
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 CHS wrote it up.

Frequent gusts of 25 knots with 4 to 6 foot seas produced Rip Currents at Fripp Island. 3 people died due to drowning.

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 Charleston, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 14, 2:47 PM EST, 1 hour 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 14, 2:47 PM EST, 1 hour 43 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 14, 2:20 PM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 14, 11:03 AM EST, 5 hours 27 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jul 14, 11:36 AM EST, 4 hours 54 minutes before
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Event by event

1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.

Rip Current, Beaufort

When
July 14, 4:30 PM EST to 4:45 PM EST
Where
Beaufort forecast zone
Deaths
3 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
Law Enforcement

Four people were caught in the rip current at Fripp Island, and a 14 year old girl became separated from the others and swam back to shore and called for help. A 16 year male was found drowned later on July 14; a 38 year old male was later found drowned on July 15; the third body of a 17 year old male was found July 17.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Rip Current, Beaufort2013-07-1438MaleIn WaterDirect
Rip Current, Beaufort2013-07-1416MaleIn WaterDirect
Rip Current, Beaufort2013-07-1717MaleIn WaterDirect

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

More

Every storm in South Carolina in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, July 2013

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 471304.