California, 2001

High Surf in California, March 29 to 30, 2001

March 29 to 30, 2001 · NWS SGX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 high surf, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
5
Property damage
$150,000
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 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 Mar 29, 9:30 AM PST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 29, 9:30 AM PST, 30 minutes before
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
930 AM PST THU MAR 29 2001

                             ...SYNOPSIS...

BUILDING HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT AND DEVELOPING OFFSHORE FLOW WILL RESULT IN
DECREASING NIGHT AND MORNING LOW CLOUDS AND WARMER DAYS WEST OF THE
MOUNTAINS INTO THE WEEKEND. OTHERWISE...FAIR. COOLER WITH MORE CLOUDS
NEXT WEEK AS LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPS ALOFT.

                            ...DISCUSSION...

LOW CLOUDS/LOCAL FOG AND DRIZZLE W OF MOUNTAINS THIS AM WITH A COASTAL
EDDY...OTHERWISE CLEAR. 12Z NKX SOUNDING HAD INVERSION BASED NEAR
2700 FT BUT TOP REPORTS TO 4000 FT AND ABOVE. FAIRLY STRONG NW WINDS
ALOFT. GRADIENTS OFFSHORE FROM THE NW AND ONSHORE TO E WITH 6-7 MB
SAN-IPL.

UPPER RIDGE OFF THE COAST MOVES OVER THE W FRI INTO SAT. MODERATELY
STRONG NW TO SE GRADIENTS WEAKEN AND TURN OFFSHORE LATE TONIGHT/FRI AM
AND CONTINUE TO WEAKEN INTO SAT. SOME UPPER AND THERMAL SUPPORT FOR
OFFSHORE FLOW FRI...WEAKENING SAT. COULD GET SOME WIND IN THE FAVORED
AREAS...BELOW CAJON PASS AND SNA MOUNTAINS...BUT THEY WILL REMAIN BELOW
ADVISORY STRENGTH. THE DEVELOPING OFFSHORE FLOW WILL DECREASE THE EXTENT
OF NIGHT/MORNING COASTAL LOW CLOUDS...HOWEVER THERE COULD STILL BE AN
EDDY TONIGHT SO WILL NOT BE TOO QUICK TO CLEAR OUT ALL OF THE STRATUS.
COULD HAVE A LOW/STRONG INVERSION THAT WILL TRAP LOW CLOUDS ALONG
IMMEDIATE COAST. WILL HAVE SOME WARMING W OF MOUNTAINS FRI...MAINLY
INLAND WITH LITTLE CHANGE SAT EXCEPT PERHAPS A BIT COOLER NEAR THE COAST
WITH EARLIER/STRONGER SEA BREEZE. MOUNTAIN/DESERT WARMING WILL BE
DELAYED UNTIL SAT.

LONGER RANGE PROGS INDICATE THAT SRN CA WILL STILL BE UNDER THE
INFLUENCE OF WEAKENING UPPER RIDGE SUN. LOTS OF DISAGREEMENT IN THE
DETAILS NEXT WEEK BUT LOOKS LIKE A COUPLE OF TROUGHS WILL BRING COOLING
AND MORE CLOUDS. THE SECOND STRONGER TROUGH DIGS S ALONG THE COAST
TOWARD LATE TUE/WED COULD BRING SOME PRECIP. HOWEVER...THIS TROUGH
PROBABLY TOO STRONG ON MRF AND STILL TOO EARLY/TOO MUCH UNCERTAINTY TO
MENTION PRECIP IN EXTENDED.

SAN 000

.SAN...NONE.

ATKIN

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, San Diego County Coasts

When
March 29, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
San Diego County Coasts forecast zone
Injuries
5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$150,000
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A 27 foot boat was broadsided by a 7 foot wave southwest of the entrance to Oceanside Harbor. The fifteen occupants were thrown into the water. Two men suffered major injuries, three others had minor injuries.

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

More

Every storm in California in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 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: 5234821.