A high-level government meteorologist drowned off the North Carolina coast on Monday in rough surf that had previously prompted a weather alert from his own employer.

William Lapenta, 58 — who directed the National Centers for Environmental Prediction for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — died swimming at a beach in the town of Duck about 4:30 p.m., according to Weather.com.

“This is a tragic loss to all of us in the NOAA family and to Bill’s atmospheric science colleagues throughout the world,” Louis W. Uccellin, a director at the National Weather Service, which is part of NOAA, wrote in an email to colleagues.

“We are all in shock and trying to process this news and accept it,” continued the email, which was obtained by the weather site.

North Carolina beaches on Monday experienced strong rip currents and high swells from Hurricane Lorenzo, which swirled some distance away in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

The conditions even warranted a beach hazard statement for the area, including Duck, warning of the dangerous surf.

Duck Town Manager Christopher Layton told the site in a statement that “surf conditions and a rip current in the area were likely a factor” in Lapenta’s death.

Lapenta worked for NOAA since 2008. Before that, he spent 20 years working for NASA.