A strong rip current resulted in a fatality at Kure Beach.
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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 ILM wrote it up.
A strong rip current resulted in a fatality at Kure 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 Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 18, 2:58 PM EST, 1 hour 47 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington NC 358 PM EDT Sun Apr 18 2021 .SYNOPSIS... Weak low pressure moving south of Cape Fear will bring small rain chances to Southeast North Carolina Monday, with another chance of rain along the coast late Tuesday. A dry cold front will cross the area late Wednesday, with cool and dry high pressure moving in Thursday and Friday. A storm system will approach from the Gulf Coast states on Saturday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... Satellite shows scattered cumulus beginning to feed on a weak sea breeze boundary which will continue to meander inland this afternoon. A dry environment in place along with help from a subsidence inversion aloft is making shower development difficult over this area. Therefore, expect most folks in our ares to remain rain-free this evening as a weak wave of low pressure continues to move offshore. Overnight lows will stay in the upper 50s with increasing cloud cover out of the south due to the proximity of the aforementioned disturbance. More defined and well-organized shortwave will approach the area on Monday. We will still be stuck in a dry environment with a significant subsidence inversion around 700 mb. In addition, dry air advection above the inversion will likely limit shower chances after Monday morning. Will keep the mention of a few low-topped showers possible due to such a potent energy center traversing northern NC and southern VA, but the best chance looks to be earlier in the day. High temperatures will jump into the upper 70s to near 80 with skies clearing during the afternoon. Good radiational cooling and dry surface layer will allow overnight temperatures to drop into the upper 40s to around 50. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... Weak sfc low pressure passes well off to the S on Tue, and included just low end PoPs over SE areas mainly for the Tue night period where mid-level shortwave energy will be strongest. Any precip will be light, and kept thunder out of the forecast at this point. Temps will be near normal for late April...highs in the low 70s along the coast, with mid/upr 70s inland. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... A strong cold front crosses the area late Wed, and maintained previous thinking that moisture will be quite lacking so expect the front to pass by dry with only a few clouds. Breezy SW flow becomes NW behind the front Wed night, remaining gusty at times. With this setup, bumped up low temps Wed night a bit as guidance often has a low bias with temps when winds stay elevated overnight. The CAA weakens into Thu and Fri as sfc high pressure moves through the area, with temps about 5-10 degrees below normal both days. Next chance of rain arrives over the weekend. The 12Z GFS has a much stronger southern stream system than the ECMWF, but they both show a good chance of rain over the weekend regardless so bumped up PoPs to 50-60% Sat/Sat night. && .AVIATION /19Z SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... VFR conditions will continue through the next 24 hours. An afternoon cumulus deck has popped up at 7000-8000ft, in part due to the seabreeze. This seabreeze may also spawn a light shower this afternoon near KILM, but confidence on that is quite low. Winds will continue to be under 10kts with varying direction. Winds calm by sunset. May have some MVFR fog that develops before sunrise for the coastal terminals, and possibly KLBT, though there should be a little more mixing there that inhibits fog. Any fog that forms should erode away by 12-13Z. Winds become northwesterly at 8-10kts towards the end of the TAF period. Extended Outlook...VFR, with occasional middle and high clouds as several weak waves traverse the region. A moderately strong cold front Wednesday night may bring restrictions. && .MARINE... Through Monday Night: Winds remain light and variable this evening as a weak surface low continues to move offshore. SC coastal waters could see a brief enhancement of the gradient as the low pulls away from the coastline, therefore expect southerly winds around 10 knots. A weak boundary will push through the area tomorrow afternoon, bringing southerly winds to a northerly direction; still remaining around or less than 10 knots through Tuesday morning. Seas generally 2-3 feet. Tuesday Through Friday: Weak sfc high pressure passes offshore on Tue, with SE flow in its wake up to 10-15 kt over the coastal waters. SW winds then increase through the day Wed as the pressure gradient increases ahead of an approaching cold front. Following the cold fropa Wed evening, CAA appears moderate so SCA conditions are likely, and bumped up wind speeds a bit above guidance. Seas only make it to around 5 ft, but gusts up to 30 kt are possible. Improving marine conditions then for Thu and Fri as sfc high pressure passes through the area. && .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...None. NC...None. MARINE...None. && SYNOPSIS...ILM NEAR TERM...21 SHORT TERM...MAS LONG TERM...MAS AVIATION...IGB MARINE...MAS/21
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Wilmington NC 346 PM EDT Sun Apr 18 2021 NCZ087-096-099-105>110-SCZ017-023-024-032-033-039-054>056-058-059- 192000- Robeson-Bladen-Columbus-Inland Pender-Coastal Pender- Inland New Hanover-Coastal New Hanover-Inland Brunswick- Coastal Brunswick-Marlboro-Darlington-Dillon-Florence-Marion- Williamsburg-Coastal Horry-Inland Georgetown-Coastal Georgetown- Central Horry-Northern Horry- 346 PM EDT Sun Apr 18 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southeast North Carolina and northeast South Carolina. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. AMZ250-252-254-256-192000- Coastal waters from Surf City to Cape Fear NC out 20 nm- Coastal waters from Cape Fear NC to Little River Inlet SC out 20 nm- Coastal waters from Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC out 20 nm- Coastal waters from Murrells Inlet to South Santee River SC out 20 nm- 346 PM EDT Sun Apr 18 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the adjacent Coastal Waters. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. Small Craft Advisory conditions likely Wednesday night. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A 40 year old high school teacher drowned attempting to rescue two children in a rip current.
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 New Hanover | 2021-04-18 | 40 | Female | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, April 2021
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: 956863.