Massive waves slammed the Northern California coast on Saturday, flooding streets and endangering homes.
A National Weather Service High Surf Warning remained in effect through Sunday morning, with breakers reaching 25 to 35 feet and isolated sets topping 60 feet.
Storm surges inundate Pacifica streets and damage homes
The intense surf, driven by a storm in the Pacific, caused significant disruption across the region. In Pacifica, water surged over seawalls and inundated streets, damaging homes and cutting off access to a local Taco Bell Cantina. Residents scrambled to protect garages and basements with sandbags as waves repeatedly breached the shoreline.
Local residents including Chris Aceves, Natalie Nunez, and David Lechuga worked to defend properties from wave-induced coastal flooding. Adam Drake, a beachfront homeowner residing farther up Elder Lane, characterized the wave conditions as unprecedented, noting that recently installed pumps failed to drain the accumulating floodwater. Similar inundation affected local thoroughfares, where Reda Carr was seen digging out sand from a flooded road outside her residence.
In Santa Cruz, city officials closed beaches and the Santa Cruz Wharf until 5 a.m. Gabe McKenna, a spokesperson, confirmed public closures. Meanwhile, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office instituted evacuation warnings covering New Brighton State Beach and a coastal stretch extending south to Clubhouse Drive north of Seacliff State Beach.
Safety risks for spectators
While the swells drew large crowds of onlookers to coastal overlooks, authorities warned that the conditions were life-threatening. In Half Moon Bay, spectators at the famed Mavericks surf break were forced to scramble to higher ground after sneaker waves caught them by surprise.
“We got blasted. We got blasted by the wave,” said Tom King, who visited the beach on Saturday morning. King and his companion experienced a frightening encounter when the water rushed over them, nearly washing them away. Despite being soaked, King stated he did not regret the visit, though he acknowledged the danger.
Additional eyewitnesses, including Pacifica residents Ali Godsoe and Jared Larson, observed sneaker waves near the Pacifica Beach parking lot and shouted warnings to bystanders as the water approached. Eric Skyta, who traveled from San Francisco to Rockaway Beach Avenue, estimated the waves reached between 20 and 30 feet tall while watching the spectacle with other spectators. First responders across the Bay Area urged the public to stay away from “beaches, coastal access points, rocks, and other areas exposed to high surf,” according to the City of Santa Cruz.
Rachel Kennedy, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service Bay Area, emphasized that the beach is not a safe place to be this weekend, noting that those who venture too close endanger both themselves and potential rescuers.
Public safety officials also said that hazardous ocean conditions had already contributed to the disappearance of a 24-year-old woman swept out to sea the previous weekend at Panther Beach in Santa Cruz after being unable to escape a high tide.
“These waves bring tremendous power that will overpower anyone in the water and cause coastal erosion. The risk of drowning is very high this weekend,” a NWS San Francisco Bay Area spokesperson said.
Unusual November swell
The scale of the event is rare for November, a month that typically does not see such extreme wave activity. A buoy off Point Reyes recorded a significant wave height of 31.2 feet on Saturday morning, the highest level measured since 2015, according to Kennedy. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography said that forecast wave heights of this magnitude have occurred only once in the 27-year operational record of the Point Reyes buoy during November, with the largest waves typically arriving in December and January.
The National Weather Service noted that this surf event is driven by a storm train, while Matt Mehle, a lead meteorologist with the NWS San Francisco Bay Area office, added that the Monterey Bay reached a peak wave height of 32.8 feet.
Peter Mel, a surfer and owner of Freeline Surf Shop in Santa Cruz, said that the El Niño-powered ocean is extra alive, with surfers monitoring conditions closely alongside meteorologists like Joe Merchant.
The region remains on alert for further marine turmoil. “So we are expecting that there might be subsequent rounds of damaging waves this week,” Kennedy told the Los Angeles Times. Another storm system is forecast to arrive Sunday into Monday, bringing additional rain and maintaining rough conditions along the Pacific coast.