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If you’re planning to hit the coast during the New Year’s holiday, beware: Those waves are really going to be gnarly, dangerously so.
First, starting on Tuesday afternoon, there’ll be the strong, unpredictable type known as sneaker waves, which wash up higher on the beaches than normal, rushing over rocks and threatening to pull unwary beachgoers into the ocean.
By Wednesday, giant waves exceeding the height of a two-story house could follow.
“The initial waves that come through will be smaller in height and greater in wave strength, with the main concern being sneaker waves,” said Anna Schneider of the National Weather Service’s Monterey office. “But larger breaker waves are expected Wednesday, which is when a high surf would be a concern.”
The National Weather Service has issued a beach-hazard warning beginning 1 p.m. Tuesday through 9 p.m. Wednesday and a high-surf advisory has been issued from 9 a.m. Wednesday through 9 a.m. Thursday for the coast from northern Sonoma County down to Monterey County. Beachgoers should beware of rip currents, large shore breaks and hazardous surf conditions.
Steep beaches, such as Monastery Beach in Carmel, will present the highest risk of sneaker waves, Schneider said.
Large long-period waves are expected by midweek. Forerunner waves arrive Tuesday afternoon with swells 20-22 seconds. Larger swells arrive by Wednesday which could produce breakers up to 22 to 26 ft along west and northwest facing beaches. #cawx pic.twitter.com/8vXXHhaEfk
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) December 30, 2019
During the winter months, storms in the Gulf of Alaska tend to generate strong, fast winds that blow waves for miles across the Pacific Ocean, causing massive swells that reach California’s coast. Intense winter wave events make the coast ideal for big surf competitions, such as the infamous Bay Area contest known as Mavericks.
The competition, which once attracted surfers from all over the world, was canceled by organizers earlier this year — marking the fourth year in a row it has not been officially held.
The waves this week will come in 20-22-second intervals, with some reaching up to 25 feet on Wednesday. By comparison, another storm off the coast earlier this month caused waves along the San Francisco Bay region of 16 to 22 feet.
Darin Bingham, owner of the Half Moon Bay Board Shop, said most of the beaches from San Francisco down to Santa Cruz will be off-limits to surfers because of the high velocity and volume of the waves projected.
But spots that are relatively protected from the largest swells — Mavericks and Surfers beaches in El Granada and near the boat docks in Pacifica — likely will attract large crowds over the next two days, he said.
“We haven’t had a lot of good waves this year, so people have a lot of pent-up energy,” Bingham said. “And combined with it being a holiday where people have the time to do things and travel, I imagine it’s going to be pretty hectic out there.”
The weather service is advising residents and visitors to stay away from coastal jetties and keep a close watch on children.
The hazard warning comes just a week after a 53-year-old man died while attempting to save his daughter, who was floating on an inflatable raft in a lagoon at Carmel River State Beach on Christmas Eve when a strong ocean current pulled her toward the Carmel River and into the ocean. Rescue crews retrieved the daughter and brought her to the hospital for treatment of hypothermia, but when they reached her father, he was unresponsive.
