NWS Key West FLMA.W 0324October 3, 2026
Special Marine Warning: Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound, Hawk Channel from Ocean Reef to Craig Key out to the reef and Straits of Florida from Ocean Reef to
The National Weather Service office in Key West issued a special marine warning for Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound, Hawk Channel from Ocean Reef to Craig Key out to the reef and Straits of Florida from Ocean Reef to Craig Key out 20 NM, which was in force until 9:45 p.m. local time on October 3. It was the 324th special marine warning the NWS office in Key West issued in 2026.
ExpiredWarning
In force for 30 minutes; it has expired. The agency may have replaced it with a new notice.
The notice
- Issued by
- National Weather Service, Key West FL
- Area
- Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound, Hawk Channel from Ocean Reef to Craig Key out to the reef and Straits of Florida from Ocean Reef to Craig Key out 20 NM
- Level
- Warning
- Issued
- 9:15 p.m. EDT, October 3, 2026
- Expires
- 9:45 p.m. EDT, October 3, 2026
- CAP severity, certainty, urgency
- Severe, Likely, Immediate
- VTEC event
- KKEY MA.W 0324
- Official source
- National Weather Service: the notice at its source
NWS notices, October 2026The latest from the National Weather Service
Source: National Weather Service: the notice at its source. AreaZine rebuilds this page from the agency's record; the agency's page is the one to act on. A U.S. Government work, in the public domain.
The notice as issued
SMWKEY The National Weather Service in Key West has issued a * Special Marine Warning for... Hawk Channel and Straits of Florida from Ocean Reef to Craig Key out 20 nm... Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound... * Until 945 PM EDT. * At 915 PM EDT, a strong thunderstorm was located near Carysfort Reef Light, moving northwest at 15 knots. HAZARD...Wind gusts 34 knots or greater. SOURCE...Radar. IMPACT...Expect wind gusts in excess of 34 knots, suddenly higher waves, frequent lightning, and heavy downpours. * Locations in the warning include... Key Largo Dry Rocks, Dusenberry Creek, Grouper Creek, Tarpon Basin, Blackwater Sound, Spiegel Grove, and Carysfort Reef Light.
What the agency told people to do
Prepare for wind gusts in excess of 34 knots, steep and fast-building seas, frequent lightning, and blinding downpours. Stay low or go below, and make sure all on board are wearing life jackets.
Source: National Weather Service: the notice at its source. The text is the agency's, unedited. A U.S. Government work, in the public domain.