A 34 year old male from Montgomery, AL was caught in a rip current and swept out about 80 feet from the beach and drowned. The drowning occurred at the Cotton Bayou beach access in Orange Beach.
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 MOB wrote it up.
A 34 year old male from Montgomery, AL was caught in a rip current and swept out about 80 feet from the beach and drowned. The drowning occurred at the Cotton Bayou beach access in Orange Beach.
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 Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 3, 2:20 PM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 320 PM CDT THU JUL 3 2014 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT)...A MUCH DRIER AIRMASS CONTINUES TO MOVE SOUTHWARD INTO THE AREA AS A COLD FRONT MOVES SOUTH. THE DRY PUSH IS ALSO BEING ENHANCED BY HURRICANE ARTHUR AS IT MOVES TOWARD THE MID ATLANTIC COAST. THE FRONT WILL MOVE OFFSHORE TONIGHT WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES DROPPING TO BELOW ONE INCH ACROSS NORTHERN ZONES AND BELOW 1.5 INCHES NEAR THE COAST. THE DRIER AIR WILL ALLOW FOR INCREASED RADIATIONAL COOLING WITH LOWS IN THE LOW 60S INLAND TO LOW 70S NEAR THE COAST. THE WEATHER FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER AS A MUCH DRIER AIRMASS WILL BE ENTRENCHED ACROSS THE REGION WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES BELOW ONE INCH ALMOST ALL THE WAY THE COAST! AS A RESULT...THERE WILL BE NO SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS TO INTERRUPT ANY PLANS. HIGHS WILL BE IN THE LOWER 90S AREA WIDE BUT WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 50S TO NEAR 60...HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL NOT BE A PROBLEM. /13 WHILE THE LOW LEVEL NORTHERLY FLOW WILL END BY SATURDAY...A VERY DRY AIRMASS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE ACROSS THE REGION WITH PRECIPITABLE WATERS ONLY AROUND THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH. WHILE THERE WILL BE SOME UPPER LEVEL HIGH CLOUDS AROUND FRIDAY NIGHT...GOOD RADIATIONAL COOLING IS STILL EXPECTED WITH SUCH A DRY AIRMASS IN PLACE. LOWS ARE FORECAST TO DROP INTO THE LOW TO MID 60S...WITH UPPER 60S RIGHT ALONG THE COAST. A FEW UPPER 50S CANNOT BE RULED OUT IN THE TYPICALLY COLDER RURAL AREAS NORTH OF HIGHWAY 84...WHICH SEEMS VERY STRANGE TO WRITE ABOUT IN EARLY JULY. THE FORECAST LOW OF 65 SATURDAY MORNING FOR THE MOBILE AIRPORT WOULD TIE THE RECORD LOW FOR THE DATE (LAST SET IN 1924). THE RECORD LOW IN PENSACOLA IS 67 AND THE ACTUAL LOW IS FORECAST TO REMAIN A FEW DEGREES ABOVE THAT. THE HIGH JULY SUN ANGLE WILL WARM US BACK INTO THE UPPER 80S/LOW 90S SATURDAY AFTERNOON...BUT HUMIDITY VALUES WILL REMAIN LOW...EXCEPT FOR ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST WHERE THE SEABREEZE WILL LIKELY INCREASE DEWPOINTS. 34/JFB .LONG TERM (SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY)...WEAK UPPER RIDGING WILL REMAIN OVER THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH MIDWEEK AS A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES PASS NORTH OF THE REGION THROUGH THE BASE OF BROAD UPPER TROUGH. THE UPPER HIGH IS THEN FORECAST BY BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF MODELS TO STRENGTHEN FURTHER ON THURSDAY. BOTH MODELS ALSO KEEP A SURFACE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS THE WESTERN ATLANTIC INTO THE NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO...MAINTAINING A SOUTHERLY WIND FLOW AND DIURNAL SUMMERTIME PATTERN OF PRECIPITATION RETURNING EARLY TO MID NEXT WEEK WITH ISOLATED TO SCATTERED AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. LITTLE OR NO PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED EACH NIGHT. TEMPERATURES WILL GENERALLY BE NEAR NORMAL THROUGH THE EXTENDED. 34/22 && .AVIATION (18Z ISSUANCE)...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE PERIOD AS A MUCH DRIER AIRMASS CONTINUES TO FLOW INTO THE REGION. /13 && .MARINE...A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTH INTO THE MARINE AREA AND DISSIPATE TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY. THIS RESULTS IN A GENERALLY LIGHT OFFSHORE FLOW THROUGH FRIDAY BECOMING WEST TO SOUTHWEST OVER THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS ACROSS THE WESTERN ATLANTIC. LITTLE CHANGE IN SEAS IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD. /13 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MOBILE 69 92 65 91 67 / 10 00 00 00 00 PENSACOLA 73 92 70 89 72 / 10 00 00 00 00 DESTIN 76 89 73 90 74 / 10 00 00 00 00 EVERGREEN 64 92 61 92 63 / 05 00 00 00 00 WAYNESBORO 63 91 61 91 62 / 05 00 00 00 00 CAMDEN 63 91 61 91 62 / 05 00 00 00 00 CRESTVIEW 68 94 61 94 65 / 10 00 00 00 00 && .MOB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. FL...NONE. MS...NONE. GM...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 508 AM CDT THU JUL 3 2014 ALZ051>064-FLZ001>006-MSZ067-075-076-078-079-041015- CHOCTAW-WASHINGTON-CLARKE-WILCOX-MONROE-CONECUH-BUTLER-CRENSHAW- ESCAMBIA-COVINGTON-UPPER MOBILE-UPPER BALDWIN-LOWER MOBILE- LOWER BALDWIN-INLAND ESCAMBIA-COASTAL ESCAMBIA-INLAND SANTA ROSA- COASTAL SANTA ROSA-INLAND OKALOOSA-COASTAL OKALOOSA-WAYNE-PERRY- GREENE-STONE-GEORGE- 508 AM CDT THU JUL 3 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA...SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...NORTHWEST FLORIDA AND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF SKYWARN SEVERE STORM SPOTTER NETWORKS IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH WEDNESDAY. GMZ630>635-650-655-670-675-041015- NORTHERN MOBILE BAY-SOUTHERN MOBILE BAY-MISSISSIPPI SOUND- PERDIDO BAY-PENSACOLA BAY SYSTEM-CHOCTAWHATCHEE BAY- COASTAL WATERS FROM PENSACOLA FL TO PASCAGOULA MS OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM DESTIN TO PENSACOLA FL OUT 20 NM- WATERS FROM PENSACOLA FL TO PASCAGOULA MS FROM 20 TO 60 NM- WATERS FROM DESTIN TO PENSACOLA FL FROM 20 TO 60 NM- 508 AM CDT THU JUL 3 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE COASTAL WATERS OF ALABAMA AND NORTHWEST FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A 34 year old male from Montgomery, AL was caught in a rip current and swept out about 80 feet from the beach and drowned. The drowning occurred at the Cotton Bayou beach access in Orange Beach.
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, Lower Baldwin | 2014-07-03 | 34 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, July 2014
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: 522787.