California, 2025

High Surf in California, November 22 to 26, 2025

November 22 to 26, 2025 · NWS MTR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A 35-year old man and two women were hit by a large wave on November 22. The two women were able to self-rescue, but the man was not.

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
1
Injuries
2
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 35-year old man and two women were hit by a large wave on November 22. The two women were able to self-rescue, but the man was not. Just after 3 PM, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office and California State Parks launched a rescue effort for the man. Around 4:24 PM, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter located what appeared to be a body in the water; however, due to dangerous surf conditions, visual contact was lost and the individual could not be relocated. Formal search operations were ended on November 26. At the time of the incident, a Beach Hazards Statement was in effect due to dangerous high surf, along with an increased risk of sneaker waves and rip currents. The Point Sur buoy (46239) reported wave heights of 10 feet, with a dominant period of 13 seconds from the west-northwest.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast

When
November 22, 3:00 PM PST to November 26, 3:00 PM PST
Where
Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
36.240, -121.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A 35-year old man and two women were hit by a large wave on November 22. The two women were able to self-rescue, but the man was not. Just after 3 PM, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office and California State Parks launched a rescue effort for the man. Around 4:24 PM, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter located what appeared to be a body in the water; however, due to dangerous surf conditions, visual contact was lost and the individual could not be relocated. Formal search operations were ended on November 26.

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
High Surf, Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast2025-11-2235MaleIn WaterDirect

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 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in California, November 2025

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: 1296195.