Name: High Surf in California, March 12, 2002
Start: 2002-03-12T12:00
End: 2002-03-12T12:00
Location: California

The toll

Deaths: 0
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 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 Mar 12, 8:40 AM PST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 12, 8:40 AM PST, 3 hours 20 minutes before

NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA
840 AM PST TUE MAR 12 2002

WILL BOOST POPS TODAY AND TONIGHT IN SMALL INCREMENTS THROUGHOUT
MUCH OF THE FORECAST IN ANTICIPATION OF THE UPPER TROUGH PASSAGE ON
WEDNESDAY. A HIGH POP...LOW QPF FORECAST IN THIS COOL...SHOWERY
PATTERN OVERALL. THE ENVIRONMENT ALOFT WILL BE CONDUCIVE TO ISOLATED
MODERATE/BRIEF HEAVY PRECIPITATION.

SHORT TERM...SFC AND BOUNDARY-LAYER LI PROGGS HAVE CONVECTIVE
BULLS-EYE OVER NRNMOST CAZ001 AND CAZ003 THIS AFTERNOON. HELPFUL
PIREP GAVE INITIAL BASE/TOP ESTIMATE OF 012/056. SEE THIS TREND
CONTINUING TODAY WITH DEEPER PORTION OF MARITIME POLAR AIRMASS
SEEPING INTO THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SNOWFALL MAY
BECOME A PROBLEMATIC CONCERN IN DEEPEST CONVECTION ALONG NRN CAZ003
AND WRNMOST CAZ004 BETWEEN 22Z-04Z THIS EVENING. RAINFALL AT UKIAH
THIS MORNING SUGGESTS THE LEADING EDGE OF COOLER AIR...PERHAPS A
PRE-FRONTAL TROUGH...DOES EXTEND THROUGH MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA.
BEST JET-DRIVEN LIFT APPEARS TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH COOLER IR TOPS
OVER SRN DEL NORTE COUNTY. 12Z MESOETA...AND REALLY EVERY MODEL SO
FAR THAT HAS COME IN...PROGGS THE DEEPER COLD AIRMASS AND
BOUNDARY-LAYER FRONT TO DRIFT SOUTHWARD DURING THE DAY TODAY. THE
JET-DRIVEN LIFT SLOWING...BUT CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THIS SOUTHERLY
PROGRESSION FOR A GOOD PORTION OF THE JOURNEY UNTIL MIDNIGHT.

EXTENDED...AGREE WITH NCEP DISCUSSION OF MORE PROGRESSIVE MIGRATION
OF PATTERN WITH MAIN SFC CYCLOGENESIS NORTH OF 48N. SHORTWAVE
RIDGING FOR WED NIGHT AROUND 140W WAS PROGGED 5 DAYS BACK. THIS
STILL LOOKS ON TRACK AS UPPER TROUGH AXIS SHIFTS INLAND WED NIGHT.

POPS CEC 79953 EKA/ACV 68853 UKI 34521

.EKA...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY PT ST GEORGE TO PT ARENA OUT 60NM.
    ...HIGH SURF ADVISORY CAZ001-002 AND PZZ450-455.

MJV

Event by event

1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Redwood Coast

When: March 12, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Redwood Coast forecast zone
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

A man climbing on rocks was knocked down by waves. He fell 8 feet onto other rocks receiving 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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in California, March 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: 5285292.