California, 2017

Rip Current in California, October 29, 2017

October 29, 2017 · NWS MTR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A long period northwesterly swell came through bringing periods of 18-21 seconds and swell heights up to 13 feet as well as increased rip current activity.

Where it happened

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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The toll

Deaths
0
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.

What happened

The episode as NWS MTR wrote it up.

A long period northwesterly swell came through bringing periods of 18-21 seconds and swell heights up to 13 feet as well as increased rip current activity.

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 Oct 28, 7:28 PM PST, 6 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 28, 7:28 PM PST, 6 hours 2 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.

Rip Current, Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast

When
October 29, 1:30 AM PST to 2:30 AM PST
Where
Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast forecast zone
Reported by
Fire Department/Rescue
Coordinates
36.240, -121.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One person was successfully rescued from Monestary Beach.

What these are

Rip Current
A narrow, fast current flowing away from the beach that caused a drowning or rescue.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in California, October 2017

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 722268.