LOS ANGELES (AP) — Powerful surf rolled onto beaches on the West Coast and Hawaii on Thursday as a big swell generated by the stormy Pacific Ocean pushed toward shorelines, causing localized flooding.
Forecasters urged people to stay off rocks and jetties, and to not turn their backs to the ocean because of the danger of “sneaker waves” — occasional much bigger waves that can run far up the sand and wash someone off a beach.
A high surf warning for parts of Northern California said waves would range from 28 to 33 feet (8.5 to 10 meters) and up to 40 feet (12 meters) at some locations, the National Weather Service said, adding that there were reports of flooding in low-lying coastal areas.
In Aptos on the north end of Monterey Bay, surf overran the beach and swept into a parking lot, leaving the area strewn with debris. Santa Cruz County issued warnings for people in several coastal areas to be ready to evacuate.
“Mother Nature’s angry,” said Eve Krammer, an Aptos resident for several years. “I mean these waves are gnarly. They’re huge.”
The same area was battered by the ocean last January as the West Coast was slammed by numerous atmospheric