High Surf — Santa Barbara County South Coast, California

2014-03-01 · Santa Barbara County South Coast, California

Event narrative

A large long-period west swell generated high surf along the coast of southern Santa Barbara county. A large wave crashed through the window of Moby Dick restaurant in Stearns Wharf. In addition, 50 feet of the Gaviota Pier was destroyed by large surf and an employee of a restaurant near the Goleta Pier was injured when a wave washed him from an outdoor deck into the ocean.

Wider weather episode

A powerful winter storm. which began to impact Southern California on the last day in February, continued to bring significant weather to the area through March 2nd. Rainfall totals were very impressive, ranging from 1 to 4 inches across coastal areas to between 6 and 12 inches across the mountains and foothills. This winter storm generated some intense showers which produced flash flooding and debris flows as well as some severe thunderstorms. In the mountains, the combination of 6 to 12 inches of snowfall and southerly wind gusts around 90 MPH generated winter storm conditions.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 504164. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.