TALLAHASSEE — The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning across the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend region Sunday while simultaneously warning beachgoers from Jacksonville to Miami-Dade County of dangerous rip currents, a combination of hazards stretching across nearly the entire state.
The Red Flag Warning, issued by NWS Tallahassee at 8:40 a.m., covers more than two dozen Florida counties — including Walton, Holmes, Washington, Jackson, Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Franklin, Gadsden, Leon, Jefferson, Madison, Wakulla, Taylor, Lafayette, Dixie and Liberty — and remains in effect until 8 p.m. Sunday. Northeast winds of 10 to 15 mph with gusts to 25 mph, combined with relative humidity of just 14 to 21 percent, are driving what the agency called “critical fire weather conditions.”
“Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly. Outdoor burning is not recommended,” the NWS warned. The alert also extends into portions of southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia, reflecting the regional scope of the dry, windy pattern.
A Red Flag Warning means that a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior, according to the NWS. The warning is the eighth such fire-weather alert — designated FW.W.0008 — issued by the Tallahassee office this season, a pace that underlines the persistent drought conditions across North Florida heading into late April.
Separately, NWS Jacksonville issued a high rip current risk statement covering Northeast Florida beaches in Nassau, Duval, Flagler and St. Johns counties. The dangerous rip currents are expected from 8 a.m. Sunday through late Sunday night. “Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water,” the agency stated, urging beachgoers to swim near a lifeguard.
The NWS advised anyone caught in a rip current to “relax and float. Don’t swim against the current. If able, swim in a direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the shore and call or wave for help.”
Farther south, NWS Miami issued its own rip current statement for Coastal Broward County and Coastal Miami-Dade County beginning at 2 p.m. Sunday and extending through Wednesday morning. That alert — the 20th rip current statement from the Miami office this year — carries a high-risk designation and reflects building surf along the Southeast Florida coastline.
The Miami office also issued a High Surf Advisory effective Sunday through Monday evening, though full details of surf heights were not immediately available in the alert data.
The simultaneous hazards span roughly 500 miles of Florida geography, from the Alabama border to the southern tip of Miami-Dade County. Residents in the Panhandle and Big Bend should avoid any outdoor burning through Sunday evening, while beachgoers along both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts should check local conditions before entering the water.
The Red Flag Warning is set to expire at 8 p.m. Sunday. The Jacksonville rip current risk runs through late Sunday night, while the Miami-Dade and Broward rip current danger persists through Wednesday morning, meaning South Florida beach hazards will carry well into the workweek.