JACKSONVILLE — The National Weather Service issued a string of hazard alerts spanning nearly the entire Florida coastline and deep into the state’s interior, warning of critically low humidity fueling fire danger in the northeast and dangerous rip currents threatening swimmers from Pensacola Beach to Miami-Dade County.
NWS Jacksonville issued a special weather statement at 2:31 a.m. warning that relative humidity values will drop below 30 percent along and just south of Interstate 10 into the Suwannee Valley and below 25 percent west of U.S. Highway 301 in Southeast Georgia for 4 or more hours this afternoon. Light southeast winds of 4-8 mph over inland Southeast Georgia and 8-12 mph over inland Northeast Florida, combined with dry fuels and ongoing drought, will support elevated fire danger conditions across Suwannee, Baker, Union, Gilchrist, Hamilton and Columbia counties.
The fire weather statement carries a blunt directive: “Practice Wildfire safety and avoid activities with open flames or sparks. Obey local burn bans. If you see a wildfire, first walk or drive away from it, then call 911.” The alert expires at 8 p.m.
Separately, three NWS offices — Tallahassee, Mobile and Miami — issued high rip current risk statements covering coastal counties from the western Panhandle to South Florida. NWS Tallahassee warned of dangerous rip currents at Franklin County beaches, specifically St. George Island, driven by a 6-second period southeasterly swell. That statement runs from 8 a.m. through this evening.
NWS Mobile extended a rip current statement through Friday afternoon for Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa coastal counties in the Florida Panhandle, along with Mobile and Baldwin counties in Alabama. The alert is an extension of warnings that have been in effect since earlier this week, updated multiple times since Monday.
Farther south, NWS Miami continued a high rip current risk statement for coastal Broward and Miami-Dade counties through Friday morning. The advisory warns that rip currents “can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water.”
The simultaneous alerts highlight a convergence of hazards unusual even for late April. The inland fire danger stems from a persistent dry airmass that has settled over Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia, where drought conditions have left fuels primed for ignition. The rip current threats, meanwhile, are driven by swell patterns affecting both Gulf and Atlantic beaches.
All three rip current statements carry identical safety guidance from the NWS: swim near a lifeguard, and if caught in a rip current, relax and float rather than swimming against the current. Swimmers who cannot escape are advised to face the shore and call or wave for help.
The fire danger statement covers a broad swath of rural North Florida, including portions of the Suwannee Valley that have seen repeated wildfire activity in recent dry seasons. The affected zone stretches across at least six Florida counties and multiple Georgia counties.
The Panhandle rip current risk is expected to persist through Friday afternoon, while the South Florida advisory runs through Friday morning. Beachgoers along the Franklin County coast should see conditions improve after this evening, according to the NWS Tallahassee statement.