Rip Current — Cameron Island, Texas

2025-09-12 · Cameron Island, Texas

Event narrative

A 20-year old male went missing in the surf near the south end of the city limits, in the vicinity of the Margaritaville Resort on September 12th, at around 230 PM. The US Coast Guard and local public safety officials began a search soon after (250 PM), but due to difficult waves and other unknown reasons, the swimmer was not found within a day and the search was called off.

THe body was eventually found two days later, a little over halfway up the City beaches (Beach Access 21) - 2.5 miles north of where the swimmer entered the water two days earlier. The combination of moderate waves and a east-northeast swell direction/period strongly suggested the swimmer was swept into deeper waters by a rip current.

Wider weather episode

Moderate strength high pressure over east Texas and Louisiana was sufficient to produce a persistent northeast swell/wave direction. During the afternoon of September 12th, offshore wave heights of 4.4 feet with a swell period around 7 seconds around 200 miles east of South Padre Island was sufficient to create deceptive rip currents, and likely contributed to a drowning on the City beaches.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1295812. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.