Event narrative (NOAA)
Local broadcast media reported that a 38-year-old man from Pewee Valley, Kentucky died after being caught in a rip current at Cocoa Beach at approximately 1300 LST. The man and his family were at an unguarded beach near 16th Street. The man went into the surf to rescue his two sons that were also caught in the waves far from shore. The man was then caught in the waves himself, and went under the water. Other family members and bystanders managed to pull the unresponsive man to shore and CPR was performed, but he succumbed to his injuries.
Other notable rip current events in Florida
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Deaths and injuries are those NOAA classifies as direct. Damage is the reporting office's estimate at the time and is not inflation-adjusted. This is a catalogue record, not a forecast.