The 10-year average for US rip current fatalities is 71, weather service data shows. While it won’t pull someone underwater, a rip current can pull even the strongest swimmer away from the beach beyond breaking waves. Mallett’s death “seems to be just a tragic accident and not something to do with the conditions of the surf or tides or currents,” Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said.Ĭasualties this month tied to rip currents have been recorded between Fort Morgan, Alabama, and Panama City Beach, Florida – a zone that includes Destin.Ī rip current is “a relatively small-scale surf-zone current” that forms as waves disperse across the beach, trapping water between the beach and a sandbar or other feature so it “converges into a narrow, river-like channel moving away from the shore at high speed,” according to the National Weather Service. Yellow flags indicating “a medium hazard, moderate surf and/or currents” flew Tuesday along Destin beaches, though “there were no rip currents present in the area in which we responded to Ryan Mallett,” the Destin Fire Control District said Wednesday in a statement. An alert early Tuesday predicted: “Southwest to west winds today will create a high risk of rip currents along Panhandle beaches,” according to the National Weather Service office in Tallahassee’s forecast update.
WJHGġ1 people have died in rip currents in less than two weeks along Gulf CoastĪuthorities have been warning beachgoers as rip currents have claimed at least 11 lives in two weeks along the Gulf Coast. The Panama City beachline is seen on June 27, 2023.
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