High Surf, X W San Diego
- When
- December 3, 10:00 AM PST to December 4, 11:00 AM PST
- Where
- X W San Diego forecast zone
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Surf in California, December 3 to 4, 2001
Ocean Beach Pier was slightly damaged by waves breaking over the top of it. The Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach was also closed due to high waves.
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
- $20,000
- 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.
Ocean Beach Pier was slightly damaged by waves breaking over the top of it. The Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach was also closed due to high waves.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 3, 9:30 AM PST, 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 3, 9:30 AM PST, 30 minutes before
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 930 AM PST MON DEC 3 2001 .SYNOPSIS...A COLD UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE SLOWLY ACROSS THE AREA TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY...BRINGING SHOWERS WITH A A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS...AND SNOW TO THE LOCAL MOUNTAINS. .DISCUSSION...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW OFF THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST WITH A TREMENDOUS COLD POOL CONTINUES TO DRIFT SLOWLY SOUTH INTO OUR VICINITY. IT APPEARS TO BE MODIFYING ON THE WAY DOWN BASED ON THE WARMING OF THE COLD POOL ON THE PROGS. MOST OF THE DEEP MOISTURE HAS MOVED SOUTH AND EAST OF OUR AREA. SOME LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL BE AROUND TODAY...BUT SLOW DRYING CAN BE EXPECTED. THIS AIRMASS WILL HAVE TO BE MONITORED CLOSELY FOR DEEP CONVECTION... ESPECIALLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND ALONG ANY CONVERGENCE ZONES THAT DEVELOP. AREAS THAT GET SOME EARLY SUN SHOULD RAPIDLY FILL IN WITH AT LEAST SHALLOW CONVECTION TODAY. THERE IS A CONVERGENCE ZONE OVER THE COASTAL WATERS THIS MORNING AND MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL BE SUFFICIENT FOR ISLAND EFFECT SHOWERS TO DEVELOP TODAY THROUGH LATE TONIGHT. WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR WATERSPOUTS IN THIS AIRMASS AS WELL. CURRENT FORECASTS WILL STAND FOR THIS MORNING AS THE FRONT IS STILL MEANDERING SLOWLY THROUGH OUR AREA FOLLOWED BY THE EDGE OF THE COLD POOL ALOFT. THE PROGS FOR TUESDAY WILL REQUIRE ADDITIONAL INSPECTION TO GET A BETTER HANDLE ON THIS SITUATION...SO I WILL NOT MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS TO THE FORECAST THERE EITHER. LOOKS LIKE DRIER AND WARMER IS ON TAP WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... WITH THE NEXT STORM POSSIBLE BY MONDAY. .SAN...MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT...SEE LAXMWSSAN. SMALL
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
- High Surf in American Samoa, December 3 to 7, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, December 3 to 4, 2001
- High Surf in Hawaii, December 3 to 16, 2001
- Dense Fog in California, December 3, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 3 to 4, 2001
- High Wind in Oregon, December 3 to 4, 2001
- High Wind in Alaska, December 3, 2001
- High Wind in South Dakota, December 3, 2001
- High Wind in Alaska, December 3, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 3 to 5, 2001
- Hail in Puerto Rico, December 3, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Nevada, December 3 to 4, 2001
More
Every storm in California in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2001
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: 5274831.