A man tried to save a woman and toddler from drowning offshore of Massengale Park in St. Simons Island during the evening.
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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 JAX wrote it up.
A man tried to save a woman and toddler from drowning offshore of Massengale Park in St. Simons Island during the evening. The woman and child were pulled back to shore, the man never returned. The woman later died in the hospital, the child survived. A moderate risk of rip currents was in effect.
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 Jacksonville, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 13, 3:36 PM EST, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Jacksonville FL 436 PM EDT Sun May 13 2018 ...PERIODS OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL EXPECTED MONDAY THROUGH AT LEAST WEDNESDAY... .Near Term.../through Monday/... A trough of low pressure will lift North into central Florida Tonight, then into Northeast Florida Monday, as a weak low develops over the Eastern Gulf. Deep layer moisture will advect North with this trough, aiding in the development of convection, with this activity increasing in coverage from South to North through the day on Monday. Periods of moderate to heavy rainfall along with thunderstorms will be expected Monday, especially in the afternoon over NE FL. Temperatures will trend below normal Tonight, then below on Monday due to cloud and rain coverage. .Short Term.../Monday night through Wednesday Night/... A stacked cyclone will meander over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico through Wednesday before moving onshore along the Florida panhandle coast on Wednesday evening. The initial surge of deep tropical moisture, featuring precipitable water vapor (PWAT) values around 2 inches, will advect northward across the Interstate 10 corridor on Monday evening and into southeast Georgia during the overnight hours. Rain chances will decrease overnight across most of inland north central Florida and the Suwannee Valley as a dry slot potentially moves overhead from the south. Categorical POPS were placed in the forecast grids across coastal northeast Florida during the evening hours and across coastal southeast Georgia during the overnight hours. Likely POPS will shift north of the FL/GA border for inland locations during the evening hours, with most of the widespread shower and embedded thunderstorm activity exiting southeast Georgia towards the early morning hours on Tuesday. Cloudy skies and deep south- southeasterly flow will keep lows in the muggy upper 60s to lower 70s. The stacked cyclone may shift slightly westward on Tuesday, which could place a dry slot over our region during the morning hours. This will serve to destabilize our atmosphere, with deep southerly flow advecting higher PWAT values over our region during the afternoon and evening hours. Likely POPS were used region-wide for Tuesday, with some of the higher resolution models such as the 3 km NAM/WRF indicating that the Gulf coast sea breeze will be the convective initiator, with activity moving north-northeastward during the afternoon hours. A few strong storms would be possible along the I-95 corridor in this scenario late in the afternoon as convection potentially encounters the Atlantic coast sea breeze. A few peeks of sunshine early in the day should boost highs into the low to mid 80s before convection overspreads our area during the afternoon hours. Convection will likely be diurnal in nature on Tuesday and Wednesday, with perhaps some nocturnal activity developing along the Nature Coast and the Florida Big Bend during the predawn hours that could advect into the western Suwannee Valley and along the I-75 corridor in north central Florida during the early morning hours on Wednesday and Thursday. Convection could become more sea breeze driven by Wednesday afternoon depending on the size and intensity of the low pressure center over the northeast Gulf, which will likely be approaching the Florida panhandle coast by late in the day. Highs are expected to again climb to the low to mid 80s before convection increases along the inland moving Gulf and Atlantic sea breezes during the afternoon hours. Categorical POPS were placed in the forecast grids in between I-75 and U.S. Highway 301 in northeast Florida, where the sea breezes could collide late in the day. A few strong thunderstorms may again be possible, with gusty winds and frequent cloud to ground lightning strikes being the main threats. Widespread rainfall totals of 2 to 3 inches are expected over our area from later tonight through Wednesday, with locally higher totals possible. Lows Wednesday night will fall to the upper 60s to lower 70s. .LONG TERM.../Thursday through Sunday/... Ridging aloft will build over the western Atlantic in the vicinity of Bermuda, while an upper trough persists over the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico. This stagnant pattern will keep a deep southerly wind regime in place that will advect waves of tropical moisture over our region from south to north. The 12Z operational long term guidance suggests that embedded shortwave troughs within the deep southerly flow will periodically migrate through our area, which will be difficult to time this far in advance as far as determining which times will be more convectively active throughout our area. Model blends have depicted a more diurnal distribution of rainfall, with likely POPS each afternoon and scattered POPS overnight to account for the possibility of some lingering convection during the evening hours or an early start to convection over the Florida Big Bend and Nature Coast that would move inland towards the I-75 corridor during the early morning hours each day. Plenty of cloud cover and at least daily diurnal convective development will keep highs generally in the low to mid 80s each day, with plenty of humidity resulting in lows only falling to the upper 60s and lower 70s. && .Aviation... Rain showers, along with increasing cloud cover will move North into the region Tonight. Restrictions will be expected in convection Monday, mainly after this 18z TAF period, but will begin Monday morning KGNV to KSGJ. && .Marine... High pressure will be East of the region Today, which will move further to the East as a trough of low pressure moves North toward the region. This trough will move North over the area Tonight through Monday, as a low develops over the Eastern Gulf. This low will linger over the gulf through at least mid week, producing a prolonged period of unsettled weather this week, yielding rounds of showers and storms. Rip Currents: A deep fetch of east to southeast winds and lingering groundswell warrants a moderate risk through Tuesday. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... AMG 65 84 68 84 / 0 30 60 70 SSI 73 78 72 80 / 0 70 80 60 JAX 69 80 69 84 / 20 80 80 70 SGJ 71 78 70 83 / 50 100 70 70 GNV 68 80 68 85 / 40 100 60 70 OCF 69 78 68 85 / 90 100 50 70 && .JAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...None. GA...None. AM...None. && 23/Nelson/Elsenheimer
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A man died due to a rip current after trying to rescue a woman and child from the surf.
Broadcast media and EM reported rip currents caused a direct drowning to a 39 yr old make and caused an direct death to a 34 yr old woman that was rescued from the surf but later died at the hospital.
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, Coastal Glynn | 2018-05-13 | 39 | Male | In Water | Direct |
| Rip Current, Coastal Glynn | 2018-05-13 | 34 | Female | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, May 2018
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: 754420, 754422.