Deadly rip currents kill two in Florida as storms lash coast

Two separate drownings in Florida underscored how quickly a storm system can turn the ocean lethal. A 32-year-old woman died Friday evening in Daytona Beach after being caught in a rip current north of Main Street Pier, and a 17-year-old died Saturday in Cocoa Beach after authorities were called to Lori Wilson Park for two swimmers in distress. The 12-year-old in the water survived.

The deaths came amid days of heavy rain, damaging winds and extremely rough surf along the state’s Atlantic coast. Brevard County Beach Rescue spokesperson Don Walker said the seas were “extremely rough” on Saturday, a warning borne out by the conditions that confronted rescuers in Cocoa Beach. In Volusia County, beach safety officials faced the same danger in Daytona Beach, where rip currents pulled the woman away from shore near one of the city’s busiest stretches of sand.

The National Weather Service had already warned that the storm threat was not limited to rain alone. A tornado watch covered parts of central Florida, including Daytona, Gainesville and Tampa, until Saturday evening, and forecasters said four damaging wind reports were submitted, including gusts reaching 60 mph and minor tree damage. The state’s weather outlook on Sunday said a cold front had settled across South Florida, with scattered showers and thunderstorms still possible there and heavy rain amounts of up to 2 inches in some storms.

Even as the worst of the wind threat eased, beach hazards remained elevated. Florida’s outlook warned of a moderate-to-high risk of rip currents for Panhandle and East Coast beaches. The National Hurricane Center says a high rip current risk means life-threatening rip currents are likely and swimming conditions are unsafe for all levels of swimmers. The National Weather Service describes rip currents as powerful streams of water that flow from nearshore out to the open ocean, a force that can overwhelm even strong swimmers in a matter of seconds.

The deaths added to a spring marked by repeated beach hazards along Florida’s coasts, where heavy weather, rough surf and deceptively calm-looking water have repeatedly put swimmers at risk. The danger is often underestimated because the most deadly conditions can arrive before, during or after the storm itself, when the sea is still churning and the warnings on shore have not been matched by caution in the water.