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

A 25-year old man was found dead in the water off China Vista Point in the Big Sur coastline. The man had been fishing on rocks near the shore. A distress call was placed around 1 PM on Saturday after a tourist reported a man floating in the water. Rescue personnel from CAL FIRE and California State Parks brought the man to shore, where he was pronounced dead at the scene. At the time of the incident, buoy 46028 (Cape San Martin - south of the vista point) reported winds gusting between 35 to 40 knots for much of Saturday morning with gusts to around 37-40 knots reported around 12PM-2PM. Buoy 46239 (Point Sur) reported building wave heights through Saturday with waves around 11-12 feet reported Saturday morning.

An inside slider pattern developed over May 15 to May 18 as a low pressure system over the Great Basin and high pressure in the eastern Pacific combined to create a strong pressure gradient, resulting in strong gusts and turbulent wind-driven seas. A Beach Hazards Statement was placed in effect for the entire weekend, while two separate Wind Advisories were put in place, one for coastal regions through Saturday and another for the interior mountains of the Bay Area Sunday night through Monday morning. The strong winds caused an estimated 13,000 customers across the Bay Area to lose power.