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California

High surf pummels Southern California, forcing pier closures in 2 counties

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A large wave pounds the rocky shoreline at Royal Palms State Beach in San Pedro on Thursday.

  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A surfer rides large wave at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro on Thursday.

  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Una persona que practica surf monta una ola en Redondo Beach, sobre la costa del sur de California.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Una persona que practica surf se sumerge una ola en el rompeolas de Redondo Beach mientras que las olas altas golpean la costa sur de California.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Una persona practica surf en Redondo Beach, en días con la marea alta en la costa sur de California.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A surfer tries to enter the water at the Redondo Beach Breakwater as high surf pounds the Southern California coast Thursday.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A surfer rides a wave at the Redondo Beach Breakwater as high surf pounds the Southern California coast Thursday.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Los surfistas en Surfers Point en Ventura aprovechan las olas altas creadas por una tormenta del Pacífico norte.

  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Surfers at Surfers Point in Ventura become acrobatic as they work the waves created by the high surf from the northern pacific storm.

  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Una surfista en Surfers Point, en Ventura, cae ante las olas altas creadas por una tormenta del Pacífico norte.

  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Olas creadas por tormentas en el Pacífico norte chocan cerca de las casas de Faria Beach, al norte de Ventura.

  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Un bote varado en la playa es golpeado por el oleaje en Playa del Rey.

  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Un surfista cae de su tabla en el agitado mar, cerca del Seal Beach.

  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Una ola gigante choca contra las piedras mientras un navegante se dirige al muelle de Redondo Beach.

  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Un surfista mantiene el equilibrio con una gran ola detrás de él, cerca del muelle de Seal Beach.

  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Una persona oberva las grandes olas en El Porto en Manhattan Beach.

  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Sets of large waves roll ashore at El Porto in Manhattan Beach.

  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Grandes olas rompen sobre el embarcadero alrededor del muelle de Redondo Beach.

  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Anh Do.
By Anh Do
Staff WriterFollow
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High surf will pummel the Southern California coastline Wednesday and Thursday, the result of large swells created by storms spreading from the northern Pacific and sparking dangerous conditions along the beaches of Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to forecasters.

A high surf advisory in L.A. County that went into effect at 4 a.m. will last through 8 p.m. Thursday. The advisory for Orange County will last from 10 a.m. Wednesday through 10 p.m. Thursday.

Powerful winds from several northern Pacific storms drove the high surf, National Weather Service meteorologist Curt Kaplan said. Waves of 6 to 12 feet are expected along the Southern California coast, while 17- to 22-foot surf may break north of Point Conception, he said.

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Farther to the south, in San Diego County, a powerful winter swell was generating 6- to 12-foot waves. The swell already had led to the closure of the Ocean Beach Pier in San Diego.

A hazardous surf advisory there will be in place until 10 p.m. Thursday.

The Ventura County Pier was also preemptively closed Wednesday because of high surf, the Police Department announced on Twitter. The pier was closed last month after powerful waves snapped at least one piling of the 146-year-old landmark.

Pictures in the News | Wednesday Jan. 9, 2019 »

Officials from the weather service warned surfers and swimmers to stay near lifeguards — and if caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore until they are able to break free.

Moreover, Southern California will see another series of rainstorms.

Starting Wednesday night, a storm is expected to move no farther south than Ventura County, where it will fade away without affecting L.A. County, Kaplan said.

A separate storm is expected to produce rainfall over L.A. County on Friday evening into Saturday, according to Kaplan, and again on Sunday through Tuesday.

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San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer Gary Robbins contributed to this report.

anh.do@latimes.com

Twitter: @newsterrier

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Anh Do

Anh Do, the community engagement editor at the Los Angeles Times, works across the newsroom to spotlight our journalists and journalism, bringing our diverse talent closer to the audiences they serve via virtual and live events. She’s a member of the recruiting team and also represents the paper in communicating with the public who have questions about The Times’ journalistic standards and practices. Before this job, she spent 11 years in Metro covering Asian American issues and general assignments. A second-generation journalist, she has reported for the Seattle Times, the Orange County Register and Nguoi Viet Daily News. Do, born in Saigon, is a graduate of USC with degrees in journalism and English. Her writing on culture and trauma has won awards from Columbia University and the Asian American Journalists Assn. She received Yale’s Poynter Fellowship in Journalism and, in 2016, was part of The Times team that won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the San Bernardino terrorist attacks. Apart from words, she’s passionate about all things canine, spending nearly three decades supporting dog rescue around the globe.

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