New York rip currents and high surf
Every recorded rip current or surf record since 1996 · 9 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 120 rip current and surf records in New York from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 5.2 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the July 25, 2008 rip current in Nassau County: 4 deaths across 3 records. New York ranks 12th of 34 states and territories by count and 12th of 34 per square mile.
Rip currents and high surf in New York, 1996 to 2026
Surf records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 1201996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 5.2average
- Deaths
- 7311 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $76Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 201017 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are rip current and surf records common in New York?
New York averages about 5.2 rip current and surf records a year since 2000, 12th of 34 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2010 (17). Per 10,000 square miles of land, New York records 25 rip current and surf records since 1996, 12th of 34 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in New York have the most rip current and surf records?
Per square mile, Queens County leads New York: 19 days with a rip current or surf record since 1996, 174.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Suffolk County has the most surf records (45 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the surf season in New York?
New York's rip current and surf records by month. The busiest month is July (18 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 14 · Feb 0 · Mar 12 · Apr 6 · May 4 · Jun 11 · Jul 18 · Aug 16 · Sep 12 · Oct 3 · Nov 11 · Dec 13 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest rip current and surf records in New York?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-07-25 | Rip CurrentNassau County · forecast zone Nassau One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A retreating offshore high pressure system and an approaching cold front produced a long south fetch with brisk south winds. Strong rip currents led to the deaths of 4 people. The first male death occurred at Sand Bar Beach in Southampton at 1:27 pm EDT. Two male teenagers playing football in about 5 feet of water ... | 4 | 0 | – | |
| 2002-06-15 | High SurfNassau County · forecast zone Nassau As a low pressure system developed southeast of Long Island, northeast winds increased to 20 to 25 knots and seas built to around 8 feet, which was measured by Buoy 44025 (about 20 miles south of Fire Island Inlet).A 25 foot pleasure boat named "Eleni II" left Jones Inlet at 6:00 am for the Freeport Hudson Anglers ... | 4 | 0 | – | |
| 2003-05-18 | High SurfSuffolk County · forecast zone Southwest Suffolk On May 18th, 2003 at around 11:30 am EDT, a 22-foot boat capsized in rough seas about 1/4 mile west off Moriches Inlet resulting in 3 deaths.An unusually strong high pressure system over New England combined with a weak low pressure system well east of the Southern Mid Atlantic Coast caused persistent northeast winds ... | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2002-08-10 | Rip CurrentMontauk, Suffolk County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A large high pressure system covered the area. The surface ridge axis extended northeast off the Mid Atlantic Coast, south of the coastal waters. An extratropical system (former Tropical Storm Cristobal) was southeast of the offshore waters over the high seas.Southeast swells with a period from 8 to 10 seconds arrived ... | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2001-07-23 | Rip CurrentRockaway Beach, Queens County Three girls were playing in knee-deep surf near Beach 17th street on Rockaway Beach around 9 am EDT, when they were swept away by rip currents. The inlet between Rockaway and Atlantic Beach was dredged to accommodate boat travel. The steep slope of the Continental Shelf, coupled with the tides, created a dangerous ... | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2019-10-01 | Rip CurrentQueens County · forecast zone Southern Queens An initial report of three missing teens came in at 3:32 p.m. on Tuesday. The boys were unaccounted for after wading into the water near Beach 96th Street and Shore Front Parkway in Queens around 3:30 p.m, police said. When rescue crews arrived, they found one of the teenagers, a 15-year-old boy, had been rescued by a ... | 2 | 1 | – | |
| 2010-06-06 | Rip CurrentSuffolk County · forecast zone Southeast Suffolk At around 1 pm, a 26 year old Male and a 31 year old Male deceased at Cupsogue Beach, Westhampton, NY due to rip currents. Both were from Brooklyn and described as inexperienced swimmers. They were non-English speaking and were outside lifeguard protected areas. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2010-05-26 | Rip CurrentNassau County · forecast zone Nassau Two people were swept out to sea due to strong rip currents along Nassau County Atlantic Ocean facing beaches. One death occurred at 645 pm EDT at Long Beach and a second at 745 pm EDT at Jones Beach. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2009-08-03 | Rip CurrentQueens County · forecast zone Queens One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Persistent onshore wind flow and long period swells produced dangerous rip currents at area beaches. These strong rip currents caused a young man's death off Jacob Riis Park in Queens and another man's death off Jones Beach in Nassau County. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2008-07-26 | Rip CurrentKings County · forecast zone Kings (Brooklyn) One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. As a cold front approached, south winds increased across the region. Strong rip currents caused the death of one 10 year old girl at Coney Island Beach and the death of one 29 year old man in Long Beach. At Coney Island Beach, lifeguards responded, saved a 10 year old boy, but, were unable to save the 10 year old ... | 2 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest rip current and surf records in New York
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-03-13 | High SurfSuffolk County · forecast zone Southeast Suffolk One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $42M | |
| 2009-11-13 | High SurfQueens County · forecast zone Queens One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $24M | |
| 2024-08-19 | Astronomical Low TideSuffolk County · forecast zone Northeast Suffolk | 0 | 0 | $9.4M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are rip current and surf records becoming more frequent in New York?
New York's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | New York | United States | New York's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 1 | 1,021 | 0.1% |
| 2000s | 44 | 4,386 | 1.0% |
| 2010s | 59 | 5,810 | 1.0% |
| 2020-26 | 16 | 2,346 | 0.7% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent rip current and surf records in New York
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-04 | Astronomical Low TideSchenectady County · forecast zone Western Schenectady | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-23 | Rip CurrentSuffolk County · forecast zone Southwest Suffolk | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2024-08-19 | Astronomical Low TideSuffolk County · forecast zone Northeast Suffolk | 0 | 0 | $9.4M | |
| 2024-08-11 | Rip CurrentSuffolk County · forecast zone Southeast Suffolk | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2024-07-05 | Rip CurrentKings County · forecast zone Kings (Brooklyn) | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2024-06-21 | Rip CurrentQueens County · forecast zone Southern Queens | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2023-07-28 | Rip CurrentQueens County · forecast zone Southern Queens | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2023-07-27 | Rip CurrentKings County · forecast zone Kings (Brooklyn) | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-07-19 | Rip CurrentSuffolk County · forecast zone Southeast Suffolk | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-06-17 | Rip CurrentQueens County · forecast zone Southern Queens | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2021-05-22 | Rip CurrentQueens County · forecast zone Southern Queens | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2020-08-18 | Rip CurrentSuffolk County · forecast zone Southeast Suffolk | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Next
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