High Surf — Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast, California

2024-12-23 to 2024-12-30 · Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast, California

Event narrative

Marina Police received a call around noon about a man in his 30s swept into the sea at the Marina State Beach at noon on December 23. Bystanders tried to assist the man but the waves were too strong. Marina Police suspended their search after two hours as wave conditions became hazardous. On December 29, a body was found floating in Monterey Bay around 4 miles off Marina State Beach. The Monterey County Sheriff's Office called the Coast Guard for assistance, but they were unable to retrieve the body.

Wider weather episode

Long duration high surf caused damage across Monterey Bay and resulted in numerous attempted water rescues on December 23. Around 1244 PST, around 150 feet of the Santa Cruz wharf collapsed and fell into Monterey Bay. Prior to 1300 PST, wave heights at buoy 46284 were building to around 18.7 feet with a dominant period of around 22 seconds. True wave direction was likely more westerly, but due to the location of the buoy, the wave direction read largely southwest.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1223059. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.