California, 2002

High Surf in California, January 26, 2002

January 26, 2002 · NWS EKA · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A man, a woman, and a teenage girl were sightseeing on the North Jetty to Humboldt Bay when a large wave washed the man and woman into the water. The US Coast Guard rescued the 43 year old woman suffering head and back injuries.

The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
1
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 EKA wrote it up.

A man, a woman, and a teenage girl were sightseeing on the North Jetty to Humboldt Bay when a large wave washed the man and woman into the water. The US Coast Guard rescued the 43 year old woman suffering head and back injuries. The man was not found during the search and presumed lost.

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 Eureka, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 26, 9:00 AM PST, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 26, 9:00 AM PST, 5 hours 15 minutes before
NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA
900 AM PST SAT JAN 26 2002

WATCHES AND ADVISORIES REMAIN IN EFFECT THIS MORNING WITH THE
VIGOROUS CORE OF MARITIME POLAR AIR DESCENDING SOUTH OF 45N AND
SEEPING INSIDE OF 130W. RAWS SITES AND COASTAL STATIONS SHOW VERY
STEADY OR SLOWLY-FALLING TEMPERATURES OVERNIGHT AND THIS MORNING.
GRAUPEL HAS BEEN DEVELOPING IN THE MOST RECENT SHOWERS ALONG THE
COAST AND THE COLD AIRMASS IS DESCENDING SEWD IN LAYERS AND WILL
EVENTUALLY OVERSPREAD ALL OF EXTREME NW CALIF BY NOON SUNDAY.

SPOTTER AT HONEYDEW REPORTED 4.05 INCHES OF RAIN DURING THE PAST 24
ENDING AT 830 AM. NO UPDATES EXPECTED AS PERIODS OF RAIN BANDS WILL
CONTINUE TODAY...TONIGHT AND TOMORROW...BRINGING SNOW LEVELS CLOSER
AND CLOSER TO SEA LEVEL. THE AIRMASS HAS MODIFIED LITTLE BETWEEN
BUOY5 AND BUOY2 DURING THE PAST 24 HOURS.

POPS CEC/EKA/ACV 99755 UKI 95556

.EKA...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY PT ST GEORGE TO PT ARENA OUT 60NM.
    ...HIGH SURF ADVISORY CAZ001 AND PZZ450 TDA AND TNGT.
    ...SNOW ADVISORY ABOVE 1500 FT CAZ003-004-076 TDA.
    ...WINTER STORM WATCH REDWOOD COAST TNGT.
MJV

Event by event

1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Redwood Coast

When
January 26, 2:15 PM PST
Where
Redwood Coast forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
High Surf, Redwood Coast2002-01-2663MaleOutside/Open AreasDirect

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 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 2002

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: 5279621.