American Samoa, 2024

Rip Current in American Samoa, April 2, 2024

April 2, 2024 · NWS ASO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A strong high pressure system centered well to the south of American Samoa created stronger than usual east/southeasterly trades winds throughout the American Samoa islands and along the territory's coastal waters. ASCAT readings showed 15 to 20 knot winds along the coastal waters.

The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
1
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 ASO wrote it up.

A strong high pressure system centered well to the south of American Samoa created stronger than usual east/southeasterly trades winds throughout the American Samoa islands and along the territory's coastal waters. ASCAT readings showed 15 to 20 knot winds along the coastal waters. Due to the stronger winds than normal, along with a long fetch of elevated winds, this led to choppy and hazardous seas in the region. Altimeter data from POES satellites showed waves between 8 and 9 feet.

Event by event

1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.

Rip Current, Tutuila

When
April 2, 1:00 PM SST to 5:00 PM SST
Where
Tutuila forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
Broadcast Media

Local broadcast media reports that the Department of Search and Rescue began searching for a man who was swept out at sea due to rough seas while swimming along the coastline of Fogagogo village on the afternoon of April 2nd. Due to continuing rough sea conditions, the search operation was limited throughout the overnight hours on the 2nd and the morning of the 3rd, but resumed on the afternoon of the 3rd. The search continued through the 8th. The body was not found.

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, Tutuila2024-04-0219MaleIn 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 American Samoa in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in American Samoa, April 2024

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1164647.