California, 2019

Sneakerwave in California, November 16, 2019

November 16, 2019 · NWS MTR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A woman fell into the water at Garrapata Beach while taking selfies and was swept out to sea.

Where it happened

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The toll

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS MTR wrote it up.

A woman fell into the water at Garrapata Beach while taking selfies and was swept out to sea.

The radar

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

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Event by event

1 sneakerwave. Local standard time, as filed.

Sneakerwave, Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast

When
November 16, 2:37 PM PST to 2:47 PM PST
Where
Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
Newspaper
Coordinates
36.240, -121.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Three people got knocked over into the water at Garappata Beach while taking selfies. Two were able to get back to shore while the third did not https://www.montereyherald.com/2019/11/18/wave-sweeps-woman-into-ocean-at-garrapata-beach/.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Sneakerwave, Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast2019-11-1623FemaleIn WaterDirect

What these are

Sneakerwave
An unexpectedly large wave that surged far up a beach and swept people or objects away.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in California, November 2019

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: 860446.