High Surf Warning Closes Monterey Bay Beaches Through Sunday

The National Weather Service has issued a High Surf Warning for the southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur coastline from 6 p.m. on Friday, November 13, through 4 a.m. on Sunday, November 15. Forecasters expect dangerous breaking waves of 25 to 35 feet, with occasional sets reaching 40 to 50 feet at favored spots. A Beach Hazards Statement covers the coast through Friday afternoon, ahead of the warning.

The closures started before the biggest surf. Point Lobos State Natural Reserve closed immediately, and Carmel River State Beach, Garrapata Beach, Asilomar State Beach and the Asilomar Coastal Trail were set to close Friday evening. California State Parks says the closures are likely to extend through Tuesday, November 17. In Santa Cruz County, the city closed all of its beaches and the Santa Cruz Wharf from Friday through 5 a.m. Sunday, and Cowell Beach was already closed after a stranded fin whale came ashore on Thursday.

The warning isn't a Monterey-only event. It also covers the San Francisco Peninsula coast, the Coastal North Bay including Point Reyes National Seashore, and San Francisco. Forecasters say large breaking waves will run up beaches and crash over seawalls, and low-lying coastal areas can flood. An atmospheric river brings heavy rain to the Pacific Northwest and north-central California on Friday, and a second one reaches the West Coast on Sunday.

Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto asked people to stay back from the water in a statement on Friday. She said the community has lost people to these conditions in recent years, and her office's guidance is direct: no photograph or scenic view is worth risking your life. The Sheriff's Office tells visitors to stay off rocks, jetties and piers, to keep children and pets away from the water's edge, and never to turn their backs on the ocean, because sneaker waves arrive without warning.

The recent record on this coast is why officials aren't softening the language. Last November, a 7-year-old girl and her father were swept into the sea at Garrapata State Beach and drowned. A week later, three people were swept in at Soberanes Point, and one man in his 30s was presumed dead. Earlier this week, a search was called off for a 24-year-old woman who was swept into the ocean at Panther State Beach in Santa Cruz County.

The pattern behind the surf is a strong El Niño. Forecasters say violent Pacific waves are a trademark of the pattern, and this year's storms have already disrupted weather around the globe. Rain from the same system reaches Southern California on Friday and continues into Saturday, with dangerous rip currents expected along with the big surf. The storm series isn't a one-weekend event: forecasters expect the pattern to strengthen into the winter.

If someone is swept in, officials say to call 911 and stay out of the water, because a rescue attempt puts a second life at risk. The surf peaks this weekend, the rain arrives in two rounds, and the closed beaches stay closed. The coast will still be there on Tuesday.