Bay Area waves flood streets in Pacifica and along the Northern California coast on Saturday, as the biggest swell in more than a decade slammed the shoreline. The waves poured over seawalls, flooded roads and pushed seawater toward homes and businesses.
A buoy near Point Reyes measured significant wave heights of 31 feet at 9 a.m. Saturday, the second highest in three decades of records at the station, topped only by a December 2015 storm. Another buoy recorded 32-foot seas at 21-second intervals, and maximum individual waves often reach 1.8 times the significant wave height, meaning offshore swells likely passed 50 feet. The Bay Area waves flood reports put the swell among the largest the region has seen in more than a decade.
Bay Area waves flood Pacifica streets and parking lots
Pacifica sustained some of the heaviest impacts as towering waves repeatedly crashed over the seawall and surged into city streets. Water ran across Beach Boulevard and reached homes and businesses, while debris including rocks and kelp surrounded the Taco Bell Cantina on Pacifica State Beach.
Nearly a foot of floodwater covered parts of adjacent Highway 1 and blocked cars from entering the restaurant’s parking lot. The restaurant escaped major structural damage, in part because a relatively low tide held during the peak surge. The surf also battered the Pacifica Pier, sending towering plumes of water into the air as waves crashed against the structure. The Bay Area waves flood parking lots and roads along the Pacifica shorefront.
Near Rockaway Beach, crowds gathered along the street to watch, but large waves repeatedly crashed over the seawall, splashing onto the street and sending spectators running. Eric Skyta, who traveled from San Francisco, was drenched by a wave while being interviewed on Rockaway Beach Avenue. “These are probably some of the biggest waves that I have seen in my entire life,” he said.
Bay Area waves flood coast as warning stays in place
The National Weather Service issued a high surf warning through Sunday morning for life-threatening waves reaching 25 to 35 feet, with 40 to 50 feet possible at favored breakpoints and 50 to 60 feet at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay. The warning remained in effect until 4 a.m. Sunday, with high tides expected to flood low-lying infrastructure and close isolated roads. The Bay Area waves flood warning covered all Pacific coast beaches.
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography said forecast wave heights of this size in November are virtually unprecedented in the 27-year history of the Point Reyes buoy. National Weather Service meteorologist Rachel Kennedy said the swell was driven by storm activity in the Pacific, including storms in the northeastern waters off the Gulf of Alaska.
The Bay Area waves flood threat extended well beyond the coast near San Francisco. Beaches were closed from Del Norte County to Big Sur, and the City of Santa Cruz closed its beaches and the Santa Cruz Wharf. The Bay Area waves flood reports from Saturday included no injuries, though the water knocked people down and sent them fleeing from large waves.
Santa Cruz County issued evacuation warnings for low-lying coastal areas including Potbelly Beach, New Brighton State Beach, Rio Del Mar and Capitola Village, where crews built sand berms. In Fort Bragg, the Coast Guard reported cars washed around in Noyo Harbor, and debris blocked Highway 1 on the Mendocino coast.
Bay Area waves flood streets as crowds gather
The swell drew crowds of spectators to beaches in Half Moon Bay and Pacifica, even as first responders urged people to stay well back from the water, watch for unpredictable sneaker waves and never turn their backs on the ocean. Tom King and his wife traveled from San Jose to Mavericks Beach on Saturday morning to watch the swell, and a police officer warned people to move farther up the hillside as a large wave approached.
“Gigantic waves. We were almost washed away by one of them,” King said. “We got blasted. We got blasted by the wave.” Pacifica residents Ali Godsoe and Jared Larson, who said they had not seen waves this large in years, urged people to respect the ocean. “It’s been years since we’ve seen waves like this,” they said.
Second swell expected after the weekend
Forecasters said a second large swell is expected late Sunday into Monday. The dangerous conditions came a week after a 24-year-old woman was swept out to sea at Panther State Beach in Santa Cruz. No injuries were reported from Saturday’s waves.