Weather Conditions at the Time of Boynton Beach Boat Incident

A boat capsized off of the coast of Boynton Beach, Fla., early Wednesdaymorning. At least 10 people on board have drowned as a result. While the exactnumber is unclear, it is believed that roughly 30 people had overloaded thesmall boat.One of the survivors stated that the people on board were Haitian andBahamian. The cause of the incident is not known. The U.S. Coast Guard haverescued 17 people, and will continue to look for more survivors early Thursdaymorning.

Weather conditions in the vicinity of the incident, which took place about15 miles off of the Florida community, did not appear to be stormy at the time.

While the waters are notorious for being choppy with sudden storms, it appearsthe sky was partly cloudy and winds were from the southeast at 8 to 15 mph.

Based on buoy data in the area, wave heights averaged from 1.5 to 3.0 feetduring from the time of the incident through the afternoon Wednesday.

The Gulf Stream, a fast, relatively warm current flowing from southwest tonortheast is present in these waters and typically produces a flow between 3and 4 mph. Hence, over a several-hour period, the flow can carry those adriftfor miles to the northeast. Ocean water temperatures were in the low to middle70s throughout Wednesday.