Giant waves pummel Northern California triggering high-surf warnings

December 21, 2018

Giant life-threatening waves pummel Northern California triggering high-surf warnings – but daredevil surfers can’t resist going in the water

National Weather Service issued a high surf warning through Monday night before downgrading it to a high-surf advisory Tuesday for Northern California beaches
Coastal areas in the Bay Area saw swells ranging 18-24 feet and nearly 40-foot breakers
At Mavericks Beach near Half Moon Bay, 50-foot waves were recorded Monday, leading the World Surf League to postpone the annual Mavericks Surf Competition
Massive waves were caused by low-pressure storm and storng winds in the Gulf of Alaska

Colossal, potentially deadly waves reaching 50 feet in high in some areas pummelled Northern California’s coast on Monday, luring thrill-seeking surfers into the churning waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The National Weather Service issued a high surf warning through Monday night before downgrading it to a high-surf advisory Tuesday, warning people to stay off the beaches.

Coastal areas in the Bay Area saw swells ranging 18-24 feet and nearly 40-foot breakers.

Half Moon Bay, California, saw monstrous 50-foot waves on Monday, which were whipped up by a storm in the Gulf of Alaska in the northern Pacific Ocean

Despite dire warning from the National Weather Service, dozens of surfs could not resist the temptation to ride the monstrous swells at Mavericks Beach

San Diego in Southern California also experienced colossal breaker that lured surfers into

A low-pressure storm system moving across the northern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Alaska generated strong winds over the water, whipping up the monstrous swells that battered west-facing beaches along the Northern California shoreline, reported LA Times.

At Mavericks Beach near Half Moon Bay, 50-foot waves were recorded Monday, leading the World Surf League to postpone the annual Mavericks Surf Competition until at least early January due to unsafe conditions.

But dozens of individual surfers could not resist the temptation of tackling the monster swells, despite the dire warnings from weather forecasters.

‘I got really lucky, but there’s a couple of guys that fell and got pushed to the rocks, which is a worst-case scenario,’ surfer Mason Barnes told KGO. ‘There’s some carnage going on, [but] everyone is still in one piece.’

Some less adventurous Californians ventured out onto local beaches to gape at the majestic yet life-threatening spectacle of the frothing breakers, leading the National Weather Service Bay Area to remind people to never turn their backs on the ocean.

Coastal areas in the Bay Area saw swells ranging 18-24 feet and nearly 40-foot breakers

A low-pressure storm system moving across the northern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Alaska generated strong winds over the water, whipping up the monstrous swells

Some curious Californians ventured out onto local beaches to gape at the majestic yet life-threatening spectacle of the frothing breakers at Duncan’s Landing north of Bodega Bay

‘Don‘t make the beach your grave,’ one ominous tweet read. ‘Constantly watch the ocean for changes in wave patterns.’

In Pacifica, California, the swells were so ferocious that they broke a window at a beachside restaurant.

San Francisco resident Joe Como said those are the biggest waves he has ever seen during the 40 years he has lived in the Bay Area.

At Mavericks Beach near Half Moon Bay, 50-foot waves were recorded Monday

The World Surf League to postpone the annual Mavericks Surf Competition until at least early January due to unsafe conditions, but that did not stop dozens of individual surfers from trying their luck

By Tuesday evening, meteorologists expected the insensitivity of the waves to diminish. A high surf advisory remained in effect until 5pm local time.

San Francisco resident Joe Como said those are the biggest waves he has ever seen during the 40 years he has lived in the Bay Area.