High Surf — Orange County Coastal Plain, California

2005-12-21 to 2005-12-22 · Orange County Coastal Plain, California

Wider weather episode

A powerful storm in the East Pacific generated very large swells that later impacted the Southern California coastline for two days. The swell arrived in Southern California on the morning of the 21st and peaked that afternoon with sets reaching 20 feet high. The high surf resulted in countless broken surfboards, hundreds of rescues, some minor injuries, coastal flooding, and beach erosion. One surfer in Oceanside suffered a shoulder injury and another surfer at Seal Beach suffered a broken leg. Nearly every pier from Imperial Beach to Huntington Beach was closed as waves crashed into and sometimes over them. Sand berms were erected in preparation for this event, however, a few were still overtopped. Breaking surf in Carlsbad flooded a parking lot, 6 cars, and two southbound lanes of Highway 21. The surf undermined the boardwalk in Dana Point and dragged a 25 ft section of dredging pipe from Bolsa Chica to Huntington Beach where it became lodged underneath the pier. The waves were big enough to allow for tow-in surfing 1.5 miles offshore from Seal Beach. The large waves combined with the record heat drove thousands of spectators and surfers down to area beaches. While the swell decreased on the 22nd, waves in excess of 10 feet high were still reported up and down the coast.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5482539. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.