Massive waves pummel California coast, from San Diego to Malibu

Tall waves pummeled the California coast on Saturday, causing beach and pier closures and endangering coastal homes and infrastructure from San Diego to Malibu and beyond. Further north, waves towering above 50 feet were recorded in specific coastal communities in San Mateo County, just south of San Francisco. The city of Manhattan Beach announced Saturday morning that its pier was closed amid the punishing surf, a rare move for the popular tourist attraction with an aquarium at the end.

At the Manhattan Beach Pier on Friday afternoon, powerful waves gathered strength before crashing forcefully under the pier’s pylons, scaring all but the hardiest surfers from venturing into the murky depths. One onlooker remarked on the scene as he gazed out from the pier, describing the waves as bigger than any he had seen in years. By Saturday, the threat had grown, with the worst of the impacts hitting Northern California. Rachel Kennedy, a meteorologist for National Weather Service Bay Area, said in an interview Saturday afternoon that the agency had instituted a high surf warning, with waves over 25 feet high along much of the coast.

At major break points, such as the popular Mavericks surf spot in San Mateo County, “more localized” waves reached 50 to 60 feet, she said, urging people to stay safe and avoid putting themselves in danger. “The beach is not your friend this weekend,” Kennedy said, adding that “you’re putting both yourself and any rescuers in danger if you go on the beach at all. If you’re going to watch the waves, you need to be sure you're a safe distance back.

You don’t want to be hit by a wave.” A little further south, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office announced an evacuation warning for a stretch of coast near Capitola that was taking the brunt of the Pacific’s watery wrath. In L.A. County, surf heights of 6 to 9 feet were expected Saturday, building to 8 to 12 feet, the National Weather Service reported. A high surf advisory was in effect through 3 p.m. Tuesday, the agency wrote, and a coastal flood advisory was in place until 4 p.m. Saturday.

Similar wave heights were anticipated in Ventura County, while San Luis Obispo County could see waves of 10 to 15 feet building to 18 to 25 feet, the service said. But Northern California took the brunt of it. Videos posted on social media and on local news broadcasts showed massive waves crashing along the coast in places such as Pacifica and Half Moon Bay in San Mateo County, sending water surging onto city streets. Witnesses reported people being knocked down by the water and running away from the particularly large waves that hit periodically.

The biggest wave height recorded Saturday morning at a buoy off Point Reyes was 31.2 feet, the highest recorded since 2015, Kennedy said. She said the high surf was driven largely by storm activity in the Pacific, in particular one with hurricane-force winds in the ocean’s northeast near the Gulf of Alaska that was generating northwesterly swell. Kennedy added that coastal residents should remain cautious through the coming week, as more marine turmoil looms.

“The initial swell is on the downtrend right now, but we are expecting to get a couple more northwesterly swells this week because the Pacific is so active right now,” she said. “So we are expecting that there might be subsequent rounds of damaging waves this week.”