Small Craft Advisory from East Cape Sable to Bonita Beach; Rip Current Statement for Coastal Collier County through Saturday

NWS Miami FL issued a Small Craft Advisory at 1:43 AM EDT Friday, October 9, for coastal and offshore waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach, Florida. The advisory covers two segments: coastal waters out 20 nautical miles and offshore waters from 20 to 60 nautical miles. Both segments expire at 4:00 PM EDT Saturday, October 10.

The advisory zone covers the Ten Thousand Islands, Cape Romano Shoals, Marco Island, Naples, and the Estero Bay corridor to Bonita Beach on the southwest Florida Gulf coast. Chokoloskee and Everglades City are the main departure points for backcountry guides running the Ten Thousand Islands redfish and snook grounds; Marco Island and Goodland are primary ramps for nearshore and offshore runs along this stretch. Both the coastal shelf transit and the offshore water from 20 to 60 nautical miles are covered. Crews planning departures from any of those ramps through Saturday afternoon should check current zone products at weather.gov/mfl before launching.

This is a conditions notice. NWS Miami FL products for the southwest Florida Gulf coast, including any re-issuances, are at weather.gov/mfl.

Update, Friday October 9 at 10:02 AM EDT: NWS Miami FL issued a Rip Current Statement for Coastal Collier County at Moderate risk, in effect through 8:00 PM EDT Saturday, October 10. Coastal Collier County covers the Gulf beach access from Marco Island north through Naples. Shore and surf anglers on Naples and Marco Island beaches should treat rip current risk as elevated through Saturday evening. Combined with the Small Craft Advisory covering offshore and coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach through Saturday afternoon, both the offshore boating corridor and the Gulf beach zones in Collier County carry active NWS Miami products through the weekend. Current NWS Miami FL products for southwest Florida are at weather.gov/mfl.

Update, Friday October 9 at 10:23 AM EDT: NWS Miami FL issued a Small Craft Advisory for coastal waters from East Cape Sable to Chokoloskee FL out 20 nautical miles, in effect through 4:00 PM EDT Saturday, October 10. East Cape Sable to Chokoloskee covers the Cape Sable peninsula, Flamingo, and the Gulf-front coastline of Everglades National Park. Flamingo is the only ramp inside Everglades National Park with Gulf coast boat access; the East Cape and Middle Cape areas are reached by water from Flamingo and are inside this advisory zone. The 10:23 AM EDT re-issuance also extended the Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach advisory, with end time unchanged at 4:00 PM EDT Saturday. SCA coverage on the southwest Florida Gulf coast now runs without a gap from East Cape Sable through the Ten Thousand Islands, Chokoloskee, Marco Island, Naples, and the Estero Bay corridor to Bonita Beach. Current NWS Miami FL products are at weather.gov/mfl.

Update, Friday October 9 at 10:31 AM EDT: NWS Key West FL issued a Small Craft Advisory covering four zones to the south and offshore of the Everglades and the western Keys corridor, in effect through 10:00 PM EDT Friday, October 9. The advisory covers Gulf of America waters from East Cape Sable to Chokoloskee from 20 to 60 nautical miles out and beyond 5 fathoms — the offshore extension of the adjacent NWS Miami coastal zone for the same area. NWS Key West FL also covered Gulf of America waters including the Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoal Channel, and the Straits of Florida from Halfmoon Shoal to 20 nautical miles west of Dry Tortugas — both the nearshore segment out 20 nautical miles and the offshore segment from 20 to 60 nautical miles. All four NWS Key West zones expire at 10:00 PM EDT Friday. Anglers running to the Dry Tortugas from Key West, Marathon, or the upper Keys face advisory conditions across both the Straits of Florida corridor and the Dry Tortugas zone through Friday evening. The Dry Tortugas lies roughly 70 miles west of Key West, requiring a transit that crosses both Straits segments under this advisory. NWS Key West FL marine products are at weather.gov/key.

Update, Friday October 9 at 11:06 AM EDT: NWS Tampa Bay Ruskin FL issued High Surf Advisories for Gulf beach zones in Pinellas and Coastal Hillsborough counties and in Coastal Manatee, Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte, and Coastal Lee counties, both through 8:00 AM EDT Saturday, October 10. The advisory area runs from Clearwater Beach and St. Pete Beach south through Anna Maria Island, Siesta Key, Englewood, Boca Grande, and the Fort Myers Beach corridor. Shore and surf anglers on these beaches now face elevated surf through Saturday morning in addition to the Moderate rip current risk already in effect through 8:00 PM EDT Saturday. This is an upgrade from the Rip Current Statements that have covered these zones since Thursday afternoon; a High Surf Advisory signals that breaking waves in the surf zone are large enough to pose additional hazard beyond rip current conditions. These products reflect Isaias outer swell building against the southwest Florida Gulf coast as the storm approaches panhandle landfall this evening. NWS Tampa Bay Ruskin products are at weather.gov/tbw.

Update, Friday October 9 at 2:11 PM EDT: NWS Key West FL re-issued the Small Craft Advisory for the same four zones covered in the 10:31 AM EDT issuance — Gulf of America waters from East Cape Sable to Chokoloskee from 20 to 60 nautical miles offshore and beyond 5 fathoms, Gulf of America including Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoal Channel, and both Straits of Florida segments from Halfmoon Shoal to 20 nautical miles west of Dry Tortugas. The re-issuance moved the end time from 10:00 PM EDT to 4:00 PM EDT Friday, October 9. All four NWS Key West zones expired and cleared at 4:00 PM EDT Friday. The NWS Miami Small Craft Advisories for coastal and offshore waters from East Cape Sable to Chokoloskee and from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach remain in effect through 4:00 PM EDT Saturday, October 10. NWS Key West FL products are at weather.gov/key.

On the water: Rules and conditions can change quickly. Confirm current regulations and official marine forecasts for your exact trip.