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Surfing the South Florida Storms

Most people run away from the storm surge, but diehard surfers run towards it. After Hurricanes Helene and Milton, local surfers went out looking to shred. Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.

Surfing image by Jeremy Bishop via Unsplash

Alexander Tabares | MediaLab@FAU

Oct 16, 2024

With billions in damage left in its wake and people still without power, Hurricane Milton struck a coastline already battered by Helene. Surfers did not let that stop them from going out before, during, and after the storm in search of the biggest waves. 


“They’re usually the only people in the water,” said Peter Foyle, an emergency ocean rescue Lifeguard at Delray Beach. He is also an avid surfer. 


This group of experienced surfers go out after others have already begun sheltering in place to surf the larger, more dangerous swells that storms bring. They can be seen on the days leading up to a hurricane when lifeguards’ red no-swim flags have already been put up.  


Miguel Forno is one such surfer. He has been surfing in South Florida for 25 years. In fact, he prefers surfing the South Florida coast, especially when there is a southern storm. Although northern Florida usually gets better surf and attracts more surfers. He was out surfing on the days leading up to Hurricane Milton's landfall on Oct. 9 and still planned to go out in the following days as the storm hit the peninsula.


“Depends on the conditions,” Forno said. “Glossy [would be the] perfect condition.”


When the ocean is glossy, the waves are less chaotic. This allows people to surf without as great a risk of injury. In the event the waves are rougher, Forno would not go out to surf.


During a storm, even fewer surfers are out on the water. But some continue to search for the biggest waves.


“During a storm it's more like a washing machine. It’s usually after or before a storm that it’s really good,” said Alan Pereira, a surfer who got into the sport two and-a-half years ago. “If it’s a really bad storm like [Hurricane Milton] you’ll see maybe three or four really good surfers, and God bless them, but I’m not that brave.” 


Many beaches along the coast have web cameras that surfers watch intently, to determine if the conditions are safe before leaving the comforts of shelter for the chaotic waters. Delray Beach and Boca Raton both have these cameras, allowing for surfers like Forno and Pereira to wait safely inside until conditions are just right. 


With Milton’s sustained gusts of over 125mph, making it a Category 3 upon landfall, the wind pushed across the entire state’s coastline. It brought waves of up to 28 feet offshore, and Hurricane Helene last month brought significant wave heights of 38.5 feet. These waves settled down before reaching shore but still brought higher wave heights and more intense currents to beaches across Florida. 


“That’s when it gets really rough; when you have high winds,” lifeguard Foyle said. “An east wind is going to create wind chop really rough.“


Rough sea chop is not the only risk to surfers trying to catch stormy waves. 


“The obvious [risk] is the undertows and the white foam gets to be really intense, so it’s really hard to swim,” said Pereira. 


The white foam is highly oxygenated, making it more difficult to tread through the water for inexperienced swimmers and experts alike. 


Surfers come out whenever storms come, as with large storms come larger swells. With a month and-a-half left in the Atlantic’s hurricane season, which officially ends Nov. 30, most Floridians pray that we’ve seen the end of this year’s major storms. Florida’s weather is unpredictable, but one thing we do know is whenever a storm comes through, there will be surfers out in the choppy waters waiting for the next big waves. 




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