A third slightly lower northwest swell brought high surf to local beaches.
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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.
A third slightly lower 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 24, 8:59 AM PST, 1 hour 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
859 AM PST SUN JAN 24 2016
.SYNOPSIS...
IT WILL BE FAIR AND PLEASANT TODAY WITH TEMPERATURES A FEW DEGREES
BELOW AVERAGE. SLIGHTLY WARMER ON MONDAY AS ANOTHER WEAK LOW
PRESSURE TROUGH SLIDES SOUTH THROUGH THE STATE. A STRONG HIGH
PRESSURE RIDGE WILL FOLLOW FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WORK WEEK WITH
FAIR...DRY...AND WARMER DAYS. OFFSHORE WINDS WILL BE LOCALLY GUSTY
ALONG THE COASTAL FOOTHILLS MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. COOLER INTO
THE WEEKEND AS LOW PRESSURE DEEPENS ALONG THE WEST COAST...BRINGING
A GOOD CHANCE FOR WET WEATHER AND STRONG ONSHORE WINDS BY SUNDAY.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING ORANGE...
SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTIES...
ASIDE FROM SOME PATCHY LOW CLOUDS AND FOG THIS MORNING...SKIES WERE
FAIR. WEST WINDS HAVE DIED OFF FROM LAST NIGHT...BUT THERE WERE STILL
ISOLATED REPORTS OF PEAK GUSTS OF 30-35 MPH NEAR THE SAN GORGONIO
AND MOUNTAIN SPRINGS PASSES INTO THE DESERTS AT 8 AM PST. THE 12Z
MIRAMAR SOUNDING HAD A WEAK INVERSION BASED NEAR 6K FT WITH 24 HOUR
COOLING OF 5-6 DEGREES C BELOW THAT LEVEL. NW WINDS INCREASED WITH
HEIGHT TO 17 KT NEAR THE INVERSION BASE. MOISTURE DROPPED OFF RAPIDLY
ABOVE 4K FT WITH A COLUMN PW OF 0.45 INCH. SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS
WERE WEAK ONSHORE.
BASED ON THE MIRAMAR SOUNDING EARLIER THIS MORNING...EXPECT A FAIR
AND PLEASANT DAY TODAY...BUT STILL A BIT ON THE COOL SIDE. SOME
PATCHY RADIATION FOG IS POSSIBLE AGAIN TONIGHT...OTHERWISE FAIR AND
COOL. FOR MONDAY...FAIR AND A BIT WARMER.
A WEAK...SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS SLIDING OFF TO THE EAST TODAY WITHOUT
MUCH HEIGHT RECOVERY AS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE TOPS THE EASTPAC RIDGE AND
SLIDES SOUTH THROUGH CA TONIGHT. ONCE THIS FEATURE PASSES MON
MORNING...THE NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL INCREASE ACROSS THE REGION.
IN ADDITION...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE GREAT BASIN...WITH A
1036 MB CENTER EXPECTED BY TUE MORNING. THIS PATTERN WILL SUPPORT
LOCALLY GUSTY NORTHERLY WINDS BELOW THE CAJON AND MORONGO PASSES. AS
THE SFC HIGH EXPANDS SOUTHWARD...THE OFFSHORE GRADIENT WILL BETTER
SUPPORT LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS ALONG ALL OF THE COASTAL FOOTHILLS IN THE
CWA THROUGH WED. AT THIS TIME...THE ADVISORY STRENGTH WINDS ARE NOT
EXPECTED.
DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN ON THE COOL SIDE THROUGH MONDAY...
THEN WARM THROUGH THE WEEK AS A STRONG RIDGE PUMPS UP 500 MB HEIGHTS
TO AROUND 582 DM AND WEAK OFFSHORE FLOW PREVAILS. THE WARMEST PERIOD
SHOULD BE WED THROUGH FRI BEFORE THE RIDGE WEAKENS AND ONSHORE FLOW
RAMPS SUFFICIENTLY. GUIDANCE SHOWS MAX TEMPS SOME 5 TO 10 DEGREES
ABOVE AVERAGE...BUT GIVEN THE STRENGTH OF THE RIDGE...WE COULD END UP
EVEN WARMER ON A COUPLE OF DAYS.
LOOK FOR A MARKED PATTERN CHANGE BY NEXT WEEKEND. ALL OF THE GUIDANCE
SUGGESTS IT WILL BE WET. HOWEVER...THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES
IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PATH OF THE INCOMING TROUGH THAT MAKE
ESTIMATING IMPACT FOR SOCAL UNCERTAIN. WHILE SOME PRECIP IS POSSIBLE
AS EARLY AS LATE SAT OVER PORTIONS OF THE REGION...MOST OF THE
GUIDANCE IS TARGETING THE LATE SUN TIME PERIOD FOR THE HEAVIEST
POTENTIAL.
&&
.AVIATION...
241630Z...COAST/VALLEYS...LOCAL BKN CIGS WITH BASES AROUND 2000 FT
MSL IN THE INLAND EMPIRE VCNTY KONT AND KAJO. OTHERWISE...SCT LOW
CLOUDS WITH BASES 3000 FT AND ABV. HIGHER TERRAIN LOCALLY OBSCURED.
EXPECT SCT CLOUDS AFT 18Z. THERE IS A CHANCE OF MVFR CIGS AND VSBY
DUE TO LOW CLOUDS AND FOG BETWEEN 03Z AND 09Z MON AT COASTAL TAF
SITES...BUT FORECASTER CONFIDENCE IS LOW AT THIS TIME. SCT CLOUDS
WITH UNRESTRICTED VIS LIKELY AFT 16Z MON.
MTNS/DESERTS...MOSTLY CLEAR WITH UNRESTRICTED VIS THROUGH MONDAY.
&&
.MARINE...
830 AM...W-NW WINDS GUSTING TO NEAR 20 KT THIS MORNING WITH COMBINED
SEAS OF 8-10 FT IN THE OUTER WATERS. WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN
THROUGH TODAY. THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS SET TO EXPIRE AT 9AM PST.
OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS MARINE WEATHER IS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON
THROUGH THURSDAY.
&&
.BEACHES...
830 AM...AN ELEVATED LONG PERIOD W-NW SWELL WILL CONTINUE THE HIGH
SURF ALONG PORTIONS OF THE SAN DIEGO AND ORANGE COUNTY BEACHES
THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. THIS WILL LIKELY RESULT IN SURF OF 5-8
FEET...WITH SETS UP TO 10 FEET...AND STRONG RIP CURRENTS THROUGH
THIS AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY FOR SOUTHERN SAN DIEGO AND NORTHERN
ORANGE COUNTY BEACHES. A HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT
THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. MINOR COASTAL FLOODING IS ALSO POSSIBLE
DURING THE HIGH TIDE EARLY THIS MORNING. SWELL WILL GRADUALLY
DIMINISH TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. WAVE MODELS ARE INDICATING
THE POTENTIAL FOR ANOTHER HIGH SURF EVENT NEXT SAT/SUN...BUT
CONFIDENCE IS LOW AT THIS TIME.
&&
.SKYWARN...
SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED. HOWEVER WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS.
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 3 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR ORANGE
COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS.
PZ...NONE.
&&
PUBLIC...JAD
AVIATION/MARINE/BEACHES...PGThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
Huntington Beach Lifeguards reported 6 to 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: 616595.