Another round of elevated northwest swell brought high surf to local beaches.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 SGX wrote it up.
Another round of elevated northwest swell brought high surf to local beaches.
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 Jan 12, 2:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
230 AM PST TUE JAN 12 2016
.SYNOPSIS...
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BRING DRY WEATHER THROUGH TUESDAY. A
WEAK TROUGH WILL BRING CLOUDY AND COOLER WEATHER WEDNESDAY WITH A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS LATE IN THE DAY. FAIR WEATHER RETURNS
THURSDAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...
A FEW THIN HIGH CLOUDS WERE PASSING OVER THE REGION THIS MORNING.
SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS REMAIN WEAKLY OFFSHORE WITH NORTHEAST TO
EAST WINDS GUSTING 15 TO 25 MPH IN THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS. FAIR
AND WARMER WEATHER WILL PREVAIL TODAY. INCREASING CLOUD COVER AND
COOLER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY AS A WEAK TROUGH MOVES BY
TO THE NORTH. IN A SAD TURN OF EVENTS...MODELS HAVE TRENDED EVEN
DRIER WITH THIS SYSTEM OVER SOUTHERN CA. WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SQUEEZE
OUT A COUPLE HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH OF PRECIP HERE OR THERE LATE
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...WITH THE BEST CHANCES
ALONG THE WEST FACING SLOPES OF THE MOUNTAINS WHERE THERE IS DECENT
OROGRAPHIC LIFT. A TRACE OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE ABOVE ABOUT 6500 FT.
GUSTY WEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE RIDGES AND LOCALLY INTO THE
DESERTS BUT SHOULD GENERALLY REMAIN BELOW ADVISORY STRENGTH.
WEAK RIDGING TO OUR SOUTHWEST WILL KEEP ANY OF THE APPROACH TROUGHS
FROM AFFECTING US MUCH...WITH THE MAJORITY OF THE MOISTURE REMAINING
OVER CENTRAL CALIFORNIA NORTHWARD. IN GENERAL EXPECT FAIR WEATHER
WITH PERIODS OF MID AND HIGH CLOUDS AND HIGH TEMPERATURES NEAR TO
SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL.
&&
.AVIATION...
121000Z...MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND UNRESTRICTED VIS TODAY AND TONIGHT.
LOCALLY GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS IN THE FOOTHILLS THROUGH 19Z COULD
PRODUCE MODERATE UPDRAFTS AND LLWS DOWNSTREAM.
&&
.MARINE...
200 AM...A LARGE WEST-NORTHWEST SWELL WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY HAZARDOUS
SEAS AROUND 10 FEET TODAY SOUTH OF SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND.
OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS MARINE WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH SATURDAY.
&&
.BEACHES...
200 AM...HIGH SURF WILL IMPACT THE BEACHES TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE
SURF WILL DECREASE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. FOR DETAILS CHECK THE HIGH
SURF ADVISORY...LAXCFWSGX...AND THE SURF FORECAST...LAXSRFSGX.
&&
.SKYWARN...
SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED. HOWEVER WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS.
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...HIGH SURF ADVISORY FROM 2 AM TUESDAY TO 2 AM PST WEDNESDAY FOR
ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS.
PZ...NONE.
&&
PUBLIC...SS
AVIATION/MARINE/BEACHES...MMThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
Surfline reported 6 to 10 ft surf at Bolsa Chica State Beach.
Surfline reported 6 to 8 ft surf at Ocean Beach.
Surfline reported 6 to 10 ft surf at Blacks Beach.
Huntington Beach Lifeguards reported surf to 8 ft.
Mission Beach Lifeguards reported 8 ft surf.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 2016
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: 616579, 616582, 616584, 616578, 616585.