California, 2011High Surf in California, February 3, 2011
February 3, 2011 · NWS MTR · 1 event in 1 county or zone
A slight increase in swell caused higher than normal waves at the coast.
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.
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- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
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- Marine and coastal
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- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- 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.
A slight increase in swell caused higher than normal waves at the coast.
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 Francisco Bay Area, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 3, 2:18 AM PST, 6 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 3, 2:18 AM PST, 6 hours 2 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
218 AM PST THU FEB 3 2011
.DISCUSSION...AS OF 2:18 AM PST THURSDAY...SATELLITE FOG PRODUCT
SHOWS SOME STRATUS OVER THE COASTAL WATERS EXTENDING OVER POINT
REYES AS WELL AS SOME HIGH CLOUDS OVER THE BAY AREA THAT ARE
OBSCURING THE VIEW. TEMPERATURES ARE RUNNING COOLER THAN YESTERDAY AT
THIS TIME BY AS MANY AS 16 DEGREES (AT SANTA ROSA AIRPORT) WITH
READINGS RANGING FROM THE UPPER 30S TO THE UPPER 40S. DEW POINT
TEMPERATURES ARE A LITTLE WARMER...AND ARE GENERALLY IN THE 30S. THE
OFFSHORE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT HAS WEAKENED TO 6.5 MB BETWEEN WMC
AND SFO...AND THE SFO-SAC GRADIENT IS NOW ONSHORE AT 0.2 MB.
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THE DISTRICT RAIN-FREE
THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD...AND PROVIDE PERIODIC OFFSHORE FLOW
EPISODES AND ABOVE NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURES. THE 00Z OPERATIONAL RUN
OF THE GFS...HOWEVER...BROUGHT A DEEP TROUGH OVER CALIFORNIA BY THE
END OF NEXT WEEK WITH RAIN CHANCES ACROSS MOST OF THE STATE. THE 00Z
ECMWF...THOUGH...KEEPS THE RIDGE INTACT OVER THE WEST THROUGH THE
RUN. THE NCEP ENSEMBLES FEATURE A LOT OF VARIATION OUT BEYOND 10
DAYS...BUT THE TREND TOWARDS A WEST-COAST TROUGH IS TO BE EXPECTED AT
SOME POINT.
&&
.AVIATION...AS OF 10:30 PM PST WEDNESDAY...WEAK OFFSHORE FLOW
OVER THE AREA. AIRMASS DRY AND STABLE.
VICINITY OF KSFO...VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH THURSDAY. LIGHT SOUTHEAST
WINDS.
KSFO BRIDGE APPROACH...SAME AS KSFO.
MONTEREY BAY AREA TERMINALS...VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH THURSDAY.
EAST WINDS 5-10 KT.
&&
.MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.
&&
PUBLIC FORECAST: SS
AVIATION/MARINE: W PI
High Surf, Coastal North Bay Including Point Reyes National Seashore
- When
- February 3, 8:20 AM PST
- Where
- Coastal North Bay Including Point Reyes National Seashore forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- Law Enforcement
- Coordinates
- 38.290, -122.835 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A 51 year-old woman walking with her husband at Portuguese Beach in Bodega Bay attempted to rescue their dog from the surf. During the rescue attempt the woman was caught in the surf herself and swept into the water. The waves were reported to be up to ten feet. Both the woman and her dog drowned.
- 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.
- Ice Storm in Mississippi, February 3 to 4, 20114 deaths · 9 injured · $15 million · 37 events
- Winter Storm in Texas, February 3 to 4, 20112 deaths · 3 injured · 24 events
- Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Texas, February 3 to 4, 20112 deaths · 23 events
- Ice Storm in Texas, February 3 to 4, 20111 death · 2 injured · $1.1 million · 15 events
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Texas, February 3 to 4, 201113 injured · $402,000 · 18 events
- Winter Weather in Texas, February 3 to 4, 20111 death · $31,000 · 6 events
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Arkansas, February 3 to 4, 20111 death · 1 injured · 9 events
- Ice Storm in Louisiana, February 3 to 4, 20111 death · 14 events
- Winter Weather in Minnesota, February 3, 20111 death · 1 injured · $4,000 · 1 event
- Cold in Illinois, February 3 to 4, 20111 death · 1 event
- Ice Storm and Winter Weather in Louisiana, February 3 to 4, 2011$1.8 million · 17 events
- Ice Storm in Louisiana, February 3 to 4, 2011$2.2 million · 9 events
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: 286495.