SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — A powerful swell generated by a Pacific storm is set to send breaking waves of 25 to 35 feet onto beaches from San Francisco south to Big Sur this weekend, with occasional sets reaching 40 to 50 feet at the best-exposed breaks.
The National Weather Service office for the Bay Area has a high surf warning in effect from 6 p.m. Friday until 4 a.m. Sunday for the San Francisco coast and the southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur shoreline. Forecasters raised their beach risk outlook to extreme.
The weather service said people should stay out of the water and off jetties, piers and rocks, warning that waves can surge up the shore without notice and drag people into the sea. A meteorologist with the office pointed to the recent death of a beachgoer near Santa Cruz as a reminder of the danger. The biggest waves are likely at the Mavericks surf break off Half Moon Bay, a magnet for big-wave surfers.
Flooding is also a concern. A coastal flood advisory runs through 4 p.m. Friday, with up to a foot and a half of water possible in low spots near shorelines and tidal waterways, and a second advisory covers midnight through 6 p.m. Saturday as waves wash over seawalls. Forecasters said high tide at the San Francisco gauge Friday was expected around 12:49 p.m., about 1.5 feet above normal.
Rain is part of the picture too. Showers were expected to spread across the North Bay, and some coastal ranges could pick up more than an inch by Saturday afternoon. Some flooding is also possible in Sonoma County lowlands along San Pablo Bay.
Filed under: Washington DC Weather News
