Dangerous surf and coastal flooding risk will continue through Wednesday morning, with the National Weather Service warning that water levels remain at record summer highs. While waves are not expected to reach last week’s peak—when two people died and multipl
For the third day, the ocean is still acting like last week’s storm surge never happened.
On Sunday, weather officials said the risk of flooding and dangerous surf at California beaches will continue until Wednesday. Coastal flood advisories remain in effect through Wednesday morning. even as the next round of swells is not expected to match the historic pounding that came earlier in the week.
The National Weather Service pointed to a key measure that captures just how high the sea has been riding. San Francisco recorded its highest-ever summer ocean water level late Saturday—1.83 feet above normal high tide. Officials said it was the highest recorded outside of the periods from November to March. when winter storms can push surges higher. The water level records go back to 1898.
The timing matters, too. Officials said the highest tides will be in the evening, and that’s when sneaker waves and dangerous rip currents have posed the biggest threat in recent days.
Over the last week, the greatest danger has been on beaches facing south or southwest, officials said. The Newport Beach city government has echoed that message to residents preparing for another stretch of king tides, warning that the unusually high water will continue through Tuesday.
City employees have been distributing sandbags to residents to help protect their property from flooding. The city also urged people heading to the beach not to park in low-lying areas and warned motorists to drive slowly through flooded areas so they don’t create wakes that could worsen flooding and affect nearby properties.
Last week’s surf was brutal enough to change the shoreline’s reputation overnight. Officials said the ocean swell brought historic 20-foot waves to the Wedge, the Newport surf break at the tip of the Balboa Peninsula.
Since then, the ocean’s danger hasn’t paused—rescues have continued even as communities brace for what comes next.
On Wednesday, rescuers attempted to save two women who were swept out to sea from a beach in Santa Cruz. One of the women died, and the other remained in critical condition as of Friday.
And in Southern California, the search for a child ended with a grim recovery. The body of missing 5-year-old Amada Mia Brown of San Bernardino was recovered in Laguna Beach on Thursday, two days after she vanished in high surf.
Officials are urging beachgoers to keep their distance from the ocean’s rough edges, especially when conditions intensify. They said people should stay off rocks and jetties at times of high surf and keep an eye on the water.
They also offered plain guidance for the moments that can turn dangerous fast. If caught in a rip current, officials advised people not to panic—swim along the shoreline, rather than directly back to the beach, until free of the current’s pull. If needed, they said to tread water and call for help.
California beaches historic swells coastal flood advisory National Weather Service San Francisco ocean water level rip currents sneaker waves king tides Newport Beach Wedge