The Gulf Stream, a fast-moving current that parallels the Florida coast, can be perilous during a storm — and likely played havoc with the two missing teenage boaters, authorities said Wednesday.
Choppy even in good weather conditions, the Gulf Stream can quickly pull a vessel both north and farther out to sea — up to 10 miles out near West Palm Beach and 35 miles near Central Florida. Its ocean heat can also can intensify storms, whip up the seas and potentially create blinding conditions from froth and spray.
Such a powerful storm apparently developed quickly on Friday, when Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, both 14, went missing after leaving the Jupiter Inlet to go fishing.