Special Marine Warning for Pensacola Bay Area and Western Choctawhatchee Bay (Sep 11, 2026)
If you are in immediate danger, call emergency services now.
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A Special Marine Warning is in effect until 5:15 AM CDT for coastal waters and bays near Pensacola and Choctawhatchee due to possible waterspouts and strong thunderstorms.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Special Marine Warning
- Affected area
- Northwest Florida Coast
- Issued
- September 11, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Mobile AL
Marine notices apply to named waters or shoreline zones. They may not describe conditions on land, even when the nearest place name is the same.
Record status: publication date is recent, but current status is not stored on this page. Check the issuing agency's live warning service before acting because warnings can be updated, narrowed, or cancelled.
Alert Details
A Special Marine Warning has been issued by the National Weather Service in Mobile AL. The alert is effective from September 11, 2026 at 3:42 AM CDT until September 11, 2026 at 5:15 AM CDT.
Affected Areas
The warning covers the Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound, Western Choctawhatchee Bay, coastal waters from the Okaloosa-Walton County Line to Pensacola FL out 20 NM, and waters from the Okaloosa-Walton County Line to Pensacola FL from 20 to 60 NM. Impacted locations include Mary Esther, Fort Walton Beach, Shalimar, Destin, East Bay, Okaloosa Pier, West Choctawhatchee Bay, Navarre Beach, East Santa Rosa Sound, and Okaloosa Deep Water Reef.
What You Should Do
Move to safe harbor immediately until hazardous weather passes. Seek safe harbor as gusty winds and high waves are expected. Thunderstorms can produce sudden waterspouts that can overturn boats and create locally hazardous seas.
Expected Conditions
Strong thunderstorms capable of producing waterspouts were located along a line extending from near Navarre Beach to 6 nm south of Oriskany Reef, moving northeast at 15 knots. Hazards include waterspouts and wind gusts 34 knots or greater.
Timeline
The alert is in effect from 3:42 AM CDT to 5:15 AM CDT on September 11, 2026.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
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Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this NWS weather alert: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (1,286 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (high) notices issued closest in time to September 11, 2026.
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