Rip Current — Coastal Palm Beach County, Florida

2010-05-15 · Coastal Palm Beach County, Florida

Event narrative

A couple visiting the area from Georgia drowned in rip currents in Lantana. A 57-year-old woman got into trouble after being pulled by a rip current. Her 70-year-old husband jumped in to save her, but was also caught in the current. Two Good Samaritans jumped in the water to try to save the couple without success.

The drownings occurred at an unguarded section of the beach.

Wider weather episode

Persistent high pressure over the western Atlantic produced moderate to strong east winds across south Florida. This led to the development of strong rip currents along the east coast beaches. Three persons drowned as a result of the strong rip currents, and as many as several hundred people were rescued during a three-day period along the beaches of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 236730. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.