PlainHazard

Rip currents and high surf in the United States, by state

The national record since 1996 · High Surf, Rip Current, Astronomical Low Tide, Seiche, Sneakerwave, Tsunami

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 13,563 rip current and surf records in the United States from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 477 a year since 2000. Hawaii records the most (9,301), Hawaii the most per square mile. The deadliest storm in NOAA's record since 1996 is the September 29, 2009 tsunami in American Samoa: 32 deaths, 148 injuries and $111 million in damage in 2025 dollars.

Rip currents and high surf, 1996 to 2026

Records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $10 million
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • $10 billion or more, or 1,000 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
13,5631996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
477average
Deaths
1,811recorded
Damage, 2025 dollars
$545MStorm Events, as filed

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Which states have the most rip current and surf records?

By count Hawaii (9,301), Florida (850), California (680) lead. Per 10,000 square miles Hawaii (14482), New Jersey (647), Puerto Rico (640) lead; large states collect more records by covering more ground.

By count since 1996

  1. Hawaii 9,301
  2. Florida 850
  3. California 680
  4. New Jersey 476
  5. Louisiana 277
  6. Puerto Rico 219
  7. Oregon 205
  8. North Carolina 180
  9. Texas 172
  10. Delaware 124
  11. South Carolina 123
  12. New York 120
  13. Georgia 85
  14. Alabama 67
  15. Michigan 63

Per 10,000 square miles

  1. Hawaii 14482
  2. New Jersey 647
  3. Puerto Rico 640
  4. Delaware 636
  5. Florida 158
  6. Rhode Island 97
  7. Louisiana 64
  8. California 44
  9. South Carolina 41
  10. North Carolina 37
  11. Maryland 31
  12. New York 25
  13. Oregon 21
  14. Georgia 15
  15. Alabama 13

Source: Land area: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles are not ranked per square mile.

Alabama: 13 per 10,000 sq miAlaska: 0.6 per 10,000 sq miCalifornia: 44 per 10,000 sq miConnecticut: 4.1 per 10,000 sq miDelaware: 636 per 10,000 sq miFlorida: 158 per 10,000 sq miGeorgia: 15 per 10,000 sq miHawaii: 14,482 per 10,000 sq miIllinois: 5.8 per 10,000 sq miIndiana: 8.1 per 10,000 sq miLouisiana: 64 per 10,000 sq miMaine: 4.5 per 10,000 sq miMaryland: 31 per 10,000 sq miMassachusetts: 6.4 per 10,000 sq miMichigan: 11 per 10,000 sq miMinnesota: 1.4 per 10,000 sq miMississippi: 0.2 per 10,000 sq miNebraska: 0.1 per 10,000 sq miNew Hampshire: 5.6 per 10,000 sq miNew Jersey: 647 per 10,000 sq miNew York: 25 per 10,000 sq miNorth Carolina: 37 per 10,000 sq miOhio: 1.7 per 10,000 sq miOregon: 21 per 10,000 sq miPennsylvania: 13 per 10,000 sq miRhode Island: 97 per 10,000 sq miSouth Carolina: 41 per 10,000 sq miTennessee: 0.7 per 10,000 sq miTexas: 6.6 per 10,000 sq miVirginia: 4.3 per 10,000 sq miWashington: 4.1 per 10,000 sq miWest Virginia: 0.8 per 10,000 sq miWisconsin: 5.0 per 10,000 sq mi
  • 0.1-1.7
  • 1.7-5.8
  • 5.8-15
  • 15-64
  • 64+
Rip currents and high surf per 10,000 square miles by state since 1996. Each class holds about a fifth of the states; Alaska and Hawaii are drawn as insets, not to scale.

Every state

Rip current and surf risk by state: FEMA's model

The record above counts what happened. FEMA's National Risk Index estimates what each state can expect to lose to rip currents and high surf in an average year, from history, exposure and vulnerability: Florida carries the largest expected annual loss ($201M), then New Jersey and Louisiana.

  1. Florida $201M
  2. New Jersey $146M
  3. Louisiana $74M
  4. New York $70M
  5. California $67M
  6. Massachusetts $61M
  7. South Carolina $57M
  8. Washington $47M
  9. North Carolina $33M
  10. Virginia $32M
  11. Connecticut $31M
  12. Maryland $28M
  13. Georgia $21M
  14. Delaware $19M
  15. Oregon $19M

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), county expected annual loss summed by state; a model, not a count. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

When is the surf season?

Rip currents and high surf by month, nationally. The busiest month is January.

The values, month by month

Jan 1,907 · Feb 1,630 · Mar 1,333 · Apr 886 · May 707 · Jun 886 · Jul 838 · Aug 764 · Sep 878 · Oct 991 · Nov 1,105 · Dec 1,638 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The deadliest rip current and surf records on record

The 10 storms with the most deaths since 1996, by state
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2009-09-29 TsunamiManu'a District, AS · forecast zone Tutuila A 7.9 earthquake occurred about 120 miles southwest of Pago Pago and it shook the entire Samoan and Tongan region. The earthquake occurred around 648 am Samoan local time, and it took within 15 minutes for the tsunami waves to reach the Samoan Islands. 32 148 $111M
2023-06-24 Rip CurrentBay County, FL · forecast zone Coastal Bay One storm episode: 5 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Persistent moderate onshore flow led to numerous rip currents for a multi-day period. The strongest rip current occurred between June 15-24 where unfortunately several fatalities occurred. On June 21st, a 53 year old male from South Carolina drowned in a rip current behind Pelican Walk Rentals, 6905 Thomas Drive. ... 7 0 –
2008-08-31 Tropical Storm Fay · Rip CurrentBroward County, FL · forecast zone Coastal Broward County One named storm filed by several offices: 5 records in 4 episodes, 2008-08-31 to 2008-09-14; the totals are the storm's. Strong winds caused by the outer circulation of Hurricane Gustav produced rip currents along the Atlantic coast of South Florida. These rip currents produced multiple fatalities, one injury, and caused around 15 rescues. 6 1 –
2004-06-29 Tropical Storm Tingting · High SurfGuam, GU · forecast zone Guam One named storm filed by several offices: 2 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. After five men went out into the waters off Piti in three kayaks, heavy surf overturned the kayaks. Two bodies were later recovered, and the other three are presumed drowned. The surf was related to Typhoon Ting-Ting, which had passed through the northern Mariana Islands the previous day, and was at that time about ... 6 0 –
2024-06-21 Rip CurrentBay County, FL · forecast zone Coastal Bay One storm episode: 3 records, 2024-06-21 to 2024-06-23; the totals are the episode's. On June 20, a 19-year-old man vacationing from Oklahoma got caught in a rip current and drowned behind Sharky's during the afternoon. Single red beach flags were flying at the time and a rip current statement was in effect. On June 21, three males visiting from Alabama got caught in a rip current and all drowned. Two ... 6 0 –
2003-06-08 Rip CurrentInlet Beach, Walton County, FL At least 28 people were rescued from rough surf off the Walton County beaches. Six persons drowned. Reported by the Walton County EMA. 6 0 –
2019-07-14 Rip CurrentWalton County, FL · forecast zone South Walton One storm episode: 4 records in 2 places, 2019-07-14 to 2019-07-15; the totals are the episode's. The South Walton Fire Department Beach Safety Director confirmed the death of a 53 year old male from Tennessee as a direct result of being caught in a rip current. From some accounts, it's possible the individual was trying to rescue his daughter. A high risk of rip currents was in affect at the time. In addition, ... 5 0 –
2015-05-23 Rip CurrentVolusia County, FL · forecast zone Coastal Volusia County One storm episode: 4 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Enhanced onshore flow created rough surf and numerous strong rip currents that kept local beach patrols extremely busy during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Beach safety and local news media indicated four rip current related drownings and over 500 ocean rescues, primarily in Volusia and Brevard Counties. 4 7 –
2013-06-09 Rip CurrentWalton County, FL · forecast zone South Walton One storm episode: 5 records in 2 places, 2013-06-09 to 2013-06-11; the totals are the episode's. The Panama City News Herald reported a rip current fatality occurred at Panama City Beach around 7 pm June 8th as well as three rescues that required hospitalization around 5 pm June 9th. Two of the three rescued were located near Edgewater Beach Resort, and the third was located near Continental Condominiums. The ... 4 7 –
2026-03-18 Rip CurrentArecibo Municipio and 6 more, PR · forecast zone North Central One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Breezy easterly winds generated choppy to rough seas across the regional waters, increasing wave action along exposed beaches. As a result, life-threatening rip currents persisted along many exposed beaches in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands through the middle of March. 4 6 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed, summed over each storm in each state (one episode, or a named storm filed by several offices); names from FEMA declaration titles.

The costliest rip current and surf records since 1993

The 8 most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2009-09-29 TsunamiManu'a District, AS · forecast zone Tutuila 32 148 $111M
2012-10-28 Hurricane Sandy · High SurfAtlantic County, NJ · forecast zone Eastern Atlantic One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $51M
2014-08-26 High SurfLos Angeles County, CA · forecast zone Los Angeles County Coasts Including Downtown Los Angeles 0 1 $50M
2010-03-13 High SurfSuffolk County, NY · forecast zone Southeast Suffolk One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $42M
2011-03-11 TsunamiSanta Cruz County, CA · forecast zone Northern Monterey Bay One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $37M
2016-10-15 Hurricane Matthew · High SurfDuval County, FL · forecast zone Coastal Duval One named storm filed by several offices: 5 records in 3 episodes, 2016-10-15 to 2016-10-18; the totals are the storm's. 1 3 $29M
2010-01-20 High SurfSan Francisco County, CA · forecast zone San Francisco One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $27M
2009-11-13 High SurfQueens County, NY · forecast zone Queens One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 1 0 $24M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

What the record files under rip currents and high surf

NOAA event types in this group
Event typeRecordsYearsKilledDamage
High Surf10,6501996-2026326$320M
Rip Current1,9191996-20261,420$279K
Astronomical Low Tide7931997-20262$10M
Seiche761998-20250$2.3M
Sneakerwave732012-202630$120K
Tsunami522006-202533$211M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, event types as defined in NWS Instruction 10-1605.

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