California, 2023

High Surf in California, October 17 to 19, 2023

October 17 to 19, 2023 · NWS MTR · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

Long-period swell from the North Pacific impacted the central California coast on October 18 and 19. Offshore wave heights reached up to 14-16 feet, causing high surf at up to 17-22 feet, with isolated focal points up to 30 feet.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

Long-period swell from the North Pacific impacted the central California coast on October 18 and 19. Offshore wave heights reached up to 14-16 feet, causing high surf at up to 17-22 feet, with isolated focal points up to 30 feet.

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 17, 1:50 PM PST, 9 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 17, 1:50 PM PST, 9 hours 10 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Northern Monterey Bay

When
October 17, 11:00 PM PST to October 18, 11:00 PM PST
Where
Northern Monterey Bay forecast zone
Reported by
State Official
Coordinates
37.022, -122.010 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

State Parks in Santa Cruz County reported 7 water rescues on Wednesday, October 18.

High Surf, Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast

When
October 18, 11:00 AM PST
Where
Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast forecast zone
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
36.240, -121.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A man around 30 years old from the Carmel-by-the-Sea area got stuck in a rip current around 300 yards out on the water on Carmel beach near Ocean Avenue and Scenic Road. Three surfers heard his cries for help and swam out to rescue him. The man was already on shore by the time first responders arrived, and refused medical attention.

High Surf, Northern Monterey Bay

When
October 18, 11:00 PM PST to October 19, 11:00 PM PST
Where
Northern Monterey Bay forecast zone
Reported by
State Official
Coordinates
37.022, -122.010 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

State Parks in Santa Cruz County reported 5 water rescues on Thursday, October 19.

What these are

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.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in California, October 2023

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1133535, 1133549, 1133536.