Disasters · Lower Keys watersPelican Shoal marine warning: Gusts of at least 34 knots threaten boatersWritten November 1, 2026 at 2:58 PM UTCWatchTranscript0:07A thunderstorm near Pelican Shoal threatens boaters with gusts of at least thirty0:10four knots.0:11Steep seas can build quickly.0:12Heavy rain can hide what's ahead, and frequent lightning exposes people aboard.0:17The danger reaches boaters already out in the affected lower keys waters.0:20What changes when the targeted warning ends?0:23While a wider outlook still carries the threat of hazardous showers.0:26The warning covers specified waters between the west end of Seven Mile Bridge and0:30Half Moon Shoal.0:31That includes Hawk Channel and the Straits of Florida out twenty nautical miles,0:35plus Gulf waters along that stretch out to the five fathom depth boundary.0:39The alert remained in effect at about nine o three Sunday morning, November first.0:44Its scheduled expiration is nine thirty Eastern Standard Time.0:47The warning applies to those defined waters, so boaters need to match their position0:51to the affected area.0:52Gusts of at least thirty four knots are the forecast hazard.0:55That threshold is about thirty nine miles an hour.0:58Radar indicated the threat.0:59These figures described the winds boaters should prepare for, rather than a measured1:03surface gust.1:04The expected consequences extend beyond the wind itself.1:07Suddenly, higher waves can make a boat harder to handle.1:09Blinding downpours can sharply reduce visibility, while people remaining exposed on1:13deck face the lightning threat.1:15The warning began at820 ,9 , the850 ,2 bulletin continued it, keeping the same9301:21expiration.1:22Circulation of that later bulletin didn't restart the clock or give boaters a fresh1:25warning period.1:26The storm was over Pelican Shoal when the warning began and near the shoal in the1:30update.1:30Both bulletins described it moving north at ten knots.1:33Their coded motion fields give one hundred and sixty degrees and nine knots.1:37The plain language description rounds the movement to north at ten.1:40Stock Island is among the locations named in the updated warning.1:44The list also includes Western Sambo, Joe's Tug, Pelican Shoal, East Sambo, and1:48Snipe Point, giving people on the water specific reference points within the1:52affected area.1:53An original warning also named the Vandenberg Wreck.1:55The continuation leaves that name out.1:57Boaters there shouldn't treat that omission as an all.2:00Clear, because a shortened location list alone doesn't show that the danger has2:03passed.2:04Everyone aboard should be wearing a life jacket.2:06The protective instructions also tell passengers to stay low or go below, and2:10prepare for steep, fast, building seas.2:13Those precautions address the rapid change in conditions that gusts, downpours, and2:16lightning can bring.2:22A separate statement issued at nine o one broadens the concern around the lower2:26keys.2:26It covers the nearshore waters and the outer gulf, where scattered showers and2:30thunderstorms are expected to strengthen and weaken through eleven this morning.2:33The strongest showers could produce gusts of thirty to thirty five knots.2:37Collapsing showers could do that too.2:38The broader shower field is moving west, northwest at ten to fifteen knots, carrying2:43the possibility of blinding rain and frequent lightning.2:45Those showers can send out boundaries of gusty air as they weaken.2:49Their west-northwest movement describes the wider shower field.2:52The specifically warned thunderstorm near Pelican Shoal still has its own northward2:56track in the warning.2:57The targeted warning is scheduled to end at nine thirty.3:00The wider shower outlook runs through eleven.3:02That later time belongs to a separate forecast period, and the immediate warning3:06keeps its own deadline unless forecasters change it.3:08Forecasters could cancel the warning early, continue it, or replace it.3:12Its status after nine thirty hasn't been determined yet.3:14Even if it expires on schedule, the wider outlook keeps hazardous shower gusts3:18possible through eleven.3:19So expiration alone wouldn't mean safe boating conditions.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
