SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – A pair of distant hurricanes is sending powerful swells toward Northern California, creating potentially dangerous conditions at Bay Area beaches throughout the Labor Day weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a Beach Hazards Statement for the Pacific coastline from Point Reyes through San Francisco, the Peninsula, Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay and Big Sur. The warning remains in effect through 11 p.m. Monday, September 7.
Forecasters expect breaking waves of around 10 feet, along with strong rip currents and sneaker waves capable of surging unexpectedly across beaches.
Even people who have no intention of swimming could be at risk.
“Never turn your back on the ocean,” the National Weather Service warned, urging visitors to stay away from jetties, piers, rocks and other structures near the water.
Two Hurricanes Are Sending Swells Toward California
The hazardous conditions are being created by long-period swells generated by Hurricanes Marie and Karina in the eastern Pacific.
Although the storms are more than 1,000 miles from the Bay Area, the energy they produced is traveling across the ocean toward California. The resulting swells may appear relatively modest in open water, but they can push much farther up a beach when they reach shallow water.
The danger may be especially unpredictable because two separate sets of southerly swells are arriving at the same time. Their energy can periodically combine, producing a much larger wave following an extended stretch of seemingly calm conditions.
That is precisely what makes a sneaker wave so dangerous. A beach may see smaller waves for 10 or 20 minutes before a powerful surge suddenly races far beyond the normal waterline.
According to the National Weather Service, sneaker waves can travel at least 150 feet across dry sand. They can knock people down, sweep children or pets into the ocean and move heavy logs or other debris.
Which Bay Area Beaches Are Affected?
The warning covers Pacific-facing beaches across:
- Coastal Sonoma and Marin counties, including Point Reyes National Seashore
- San Francisco
- The San Mateo County coast
- Santa Cruz County
- Monterey Bay
- The Big Sur coast
Saturday’s surf forecast calls for waves of five to eight feet along the Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo coasts. South-facing beaches in Santa Cruz County could also see five-to-eight-foot surf, with some breaking waves potentially approaching 10 feet during the broader warning period.
The advisory does not mean every wave will reach that height. It means larger waves can arrive unexpectedly among smaller ones, making conditions difficult to judge from shore.
What Beach Visitors Should Do
Officials are recommending that inexperienced swimmers stay out of the water. Anyone who does enter should choose a beach with a lifeguard and check current conditions before swimming.
Visitors remaining on shore should stay much farther from the water than they ordinarily would, particularly on steep beaches or stretches of sand with limited escape routes. Children and pets should be kept close and away from the surf line.
Beachgoers should also avoid climbing onto rocks, jetties and piers. Large waves can wash over these structures with enough force to knock someone into the water.
If caught in a rip current, swimmers should remain calm and swim parallel to the shoreline until they are outside the current’s pull. They should not try to fight the current by swimming directly toward shore.
The hazardous surf arrives during a holiday weekend when pleasant weather could bring larger crowds to the coast. Forecasters said that combination increases the number of people potentially exposed to the danger.
Anyone planning a beach trip should check updated surf, tide and closure information before leaving home — and continue watching the ocean after arriving.
