National Weather Service Issues High Surf Warning as Waves Over 25 Feet Hit California Coast

High surf across California

Massive waves pummeled the California coast on Saturday, prompting beach and pier closures and endangering coastal homes and infrastructure from San Diego to Malibu and beyond. The National Weather Service instituted a high surf warning with waves over 25 feet high along much of the coast, and Rachel Kennedy of the National Weather Service Bay Area said “more localized” waves reached 50 to 60 feet at major break points such as Mavericks in San Mateo County. The city of Manhattan Beach closed its pier on Saturday morning, and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office issued an evacuation warning for a stretch of coast near Capitola that was taking the brunt of the Pacific’s watery wrath.

25-foot waves4 of 6 outlets reported it · not in The New York Times and 1 more▾

The biggest wave height recorded Saturday morning at a buoy off Point Reyes was 31.2 feet, the highest recorded since 2015, as the high surf was driven largely by storm activity in the Pacific. Rachel Kennedy added that the “initial swell is on the downtrend right now” but that the Pacific’s activity meant “subsequent rounds of damaging waves this week.”

Reporting for this sectionLos Angeles Times

Bay Area flooding and warnings

The Bay Area’s biggest waves in more than a decade slammed the California coast Saturday, flooding streets, endangering homes, and threatening to engulf anyone who got too close.

The National Weather Service said a high surf warning was in effect until Sunday morning for “life-threatening” waves of 25 to 35 feet, potentially 50 to 60 feet at steep shorelines such as Mavericks in Half Moon Bay.

Warning through Sunday3 of 6 outlets reported it · not in Los Angeles Times and 2 more▾

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that in Pacifica, waves kept topping the seawall and that about every half hour a much bigger set pushed water hundreds of feet inland, inundating streets.

Pacifica flooding4 of 6 outlets reported it · not in The New York Times and 1 more▾

As of 9 a.m. Saturday, the San Francisco Chronicle said significant wave heights were measured up to 31 feet at a buoy offshore Point Reyes, and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said the heights measured this week have shown up only once in the Point Reyes buoy’s 27-year history.

Roger Gass, a meteorologist at the Weather Service office in Monterey, Calif., warned, “No selfie of the crashing waves is worth losing your life.”

Reporting for this sectionSan Francisco ChronicleThe New York Times

Coastal danger and next swells

A buoy off Point Reyes recorded a significant wave height of 31 feet Saturday morning, and another buoy off the coast of Monterey recorded waves reaching 32 feet with swells arriving at intervals of 21 seconds. Forecasters warned the powerful swells could produce waves exceeding 40 feet at fully exposed beaches, with occasional sets surpassing 60 feet. The National Weather Service issued a high-surf warning from San Francisco to Big Sur calling for up to 35-foot breakers and occasional 40-to-60-foot waves expected through Sunday morning.

The San Francisco Fire Department advised keeping at least 200 yards away from the water to avoid deadly sneaker waves, while the high-surf warning runs through 4 a.m. Sunday. Meteorologists expected more marine turmoil through the coming week, with “a couple more northwesterly swells this week” as the Pacific remained active.

Reporting for this sectionThe Press DemocratThe San Francisco Standard