Special Marine Warning Issued for Coastal Waters from Altamaha Sound to Fernandina Beach
This alert is no longer in effect.
NOAA issued it on April 6, 2026, 5 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The National Weather Service has issued a Special Marine Warning for coastal waters between Georgia and Florida until 4:30 PM EDT due to a strong thunderstorm.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Special Marine Warning
- Affected area
- Coastal Georgia and Northeast Florida
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Jacksonville
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: historical. It was issued 5 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Coastal Georgia and Northeast Florida.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Jacksonville has issued a Special Marine Warning for coastal waters from Altamaha Sound to Fernandina Beach FL, extending out 20 nautical miles. The alert was issued at 3:33 PM EDT following radar detection of a strong thunderstorm in the region.
Affected Areas
The warning covers the coastal waters from Altamaha Sound to Fernandina Beach. Specific locations and landmarks impacted include:
- Cumberland Island
- Saint Andrews Sound
- High Point
- Dungeness
- Saint Marys Entrance Buoy 16
- Buoy Kby and Buoy Cdh
What You Should Do
Mariners are advised to move to safe harbor immediately until the hazardous weather passes. If your vessel is caught offshore, you should immediately secure for heavy weather. Ensure all crew members are wearing USCG-approved Type I life jackets and that nonessential crew remain below decks. Mariners should also deploy jack lines and harnesses if available and check the readiness of life-saving equipment, including batteries on handheld radios.
Expected Conditions
As of 3:33 PM EDT, a strong thunderstorm was located 10 nautical miles north of Amelia City, or approximately 25 nautical miles south of St. Simons Island, moving northeast at 20 knots.
Primary Hazards:
- Wind gusts of 34 knots or greater
- Small hail
- Suddenly higher waves and briefly higher winds that could damage small craft
Timeline
The Special Marine Warning is effective immediately as of 3:33 PM EDT and is currently set to expire at 4:30 PM EDT on March 8, 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.
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