A large westerly swell produced high surf and dangerous rip currents along the beaches of Central and Southern California. Near Point Mugu, a man who was fishing was swept off the rocks and drowned.
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.
The episode as NWS LOX wrote it up.
A large westerly swell produced high surf and dangerous rip currents along the beaches of Central and Southern California. Near Point Mugu, a man who was fishing was swept off the rocks and drowned.
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 Los Angeles, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 12, 10:00 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED AVN NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA 1000 AM PST SAT JAN 12 2008 UPDATED AVIATION SECTION .SHORT TERM...LATEST SATELLITE SHOWS SOME CLOUDS/FOG ACROSS INTERIOR SLO VALLEYS THIS MORNING...AS OFFSHORE FLOW PUSHES MOISTURE WESTWARD FROM THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. EXPECT THIS SCENARIO TO CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY MORNING...WITH AT LEAST PATCHY NIGHT/MORNING LOW CLOUDS/FOG IN ZONE 37. OTHERWISE...EXPECT MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH MONDAY...AS SOME HIGH CLOUDS DRIFT OVERHEAD. THINGS ARE SHAPING UP NICELY FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF OFFSHORE FLOW THROUGH THE PERIOD. 00Z GFS/WRF SHOWING DECENT OFFSHORE GRADIENTS THROUGH MONDAY...WITH SOME DEGREE OF UPPER SUPPORT. AS USUAL...THE WRF IS STRONGER WITH THE OFFSHORE FLOW. OVERALL...EVEN WITH THE WRF...DO NOT ANTICIPATE A STRONG OFFSHORE EVENT...AS THE THERMAL SUPPORT IS NOT SPECTACULAR. SO...WILL INDICATE OFFSHORE WINDS IN THE USUAL LOCATIONS...WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS EXPECTED SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. ADVISORY LEVELS WINDS ARE NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...ESPECIALLY IN THE MOUNTAINS. WILL LET THE DAY SHIFT ANALYZE THIS POSSIBILITY. OTHERWISE...THE OFFSHORE FLOW SHOULD ALLOW FOR NICE TEMPS FOR COAST AND VALLEYS AREAS THROUGH MONDAY...WITH MOST AREAS SEVERAL DEGREES ABOVE SEASONAL NORMS. .LONG TERM...RATHER BLAND WEATHER EXPECTED THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD AS 00Z ECWMF/GFS ARE RELATIVELY ON THE SAME PAGE. AT UPPER LEVELS...THE RIDGE AXIS MOVES WEST OF CALIFORNIA ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY AS AN INSIDE SLIDER MOVES INTO THE GREAT BASIN. ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...THE RIDGE REESTABLISHED ITSELF SOMEWHAT. NEAR THE SURFACE...IT LOOKS LIKE TYPICAL DIURNAL FLOW PATTERNS WILL PREVAIL...OFFSHORE FLOW NIGHT AND MORNING HOURS AND ONSHORE FLOW AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. END RESULT WILL BE CONTINUED DRY CONDITIONS WITH SEASONABLE TEMPS. && .AVIATION...AT 1745Z...OR 0945 PST VERY LIKELY CLEAR SKIES BELOW 12KFT WILL PERSIST OVER KLAX AND KBUR WHILE A RIDGE PERSIST OVER THE AREA. IN THE MEANTIME UPPER LEVEL CIGS WILL MOVE OVER THE AREA AS A WEAK UPPER LEVEL TROUGH POSITIONED UPSTREAM MOVES SOUTH OVER THE AREA. OFFSHORE LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL PERSIST AND LOW CLOUDS WILL REMAIN PATCHY. && .LOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY (SEE LAXCWFLOX). HIGH SURF ADVISORY (SEE LAXCFWLOX). HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK (SEE LAXSRFLOX). && PUBLIC...THOMPSON AVIATION...30 WWW.WEATHER.GOV/LOSANGELES
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
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
An teenager from Oxnard, who was fishing near Point Mugu, was swept off the rocks by the large and dangerous waves and drowned.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Current, Ventura County Coast | 2008-01-12 | 16 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 2008
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: 77874.