High Surf, Orange
- When
- December 23, 6:30 AM PST to 8:30 AM PST
- Where
- Orange County, Seal Beach
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 33.677, -117.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Surf in California, December 23, 2000
6 feet the morning of 12/23, eroded a sand berm built the previous evening (12/22) to protect sea walls from being battered. Bulldozers were able to rebuild the berm during the low tide to prevent further flooding during the following days.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.
Eight foot waves on top of a spring-high tide of 6.6 feet the morning of 12/23, eroded a sand berm built the previous evening (12/22) to protect sea walls from being battered. Bulldozers were able to rebuild the berm during the low tide to prevent further flooding during the following days. Lifeguards patrolled the water on jet-skis to assist surfers caught in the strong rip currents.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- High Surf
- Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Extreme Cold in Iowa, December 23 to 24, 2000
- Extreme Cold in Illinois, December 23 to 24, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 23, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 23 to 25, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 23 to 24, 2000
- Frost and Freeze in Florida, December 23, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 23, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 23 to 24, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 23 to 24, 2000
- Extreme Cold in Missouri, December 23 to 24, 2000
- Flood in Guam, December 23, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 23 to 24, 2000
More
Every storm in California in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2000
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5166655.