Countywide : Surf Forecast Spurs Flood Warning for Some Beach Cities

Anticipating surf that could reach 10 feet at local beaches this afternoon, forecasters warned that accompanying high tides may cause flooding in Seal Beach, Surfside and the Huntington Cliffs areas.

“On a scale from one to 10, this is an eight,” said Sean Collins, a meteorologist with the Surfline/Wavetrak forecasting service in Huntington Beach. “This is something to watch out for.”

Forecasters say the surf is not expected to be as big as last week’s breakers that snapped surfboards in half at the Huntington Beach Pier.

But some Seal Beach homeowners have placed sandbags outside their beachfront homes in case high tides bring the surf over the top of a sand wall built on the beach.

This round of big surf, coming from a series of storms about 2,500 miles off the coast, could generate waves of up to 20 feet in Central California and could threaten the Ventura Pier, forecasters predict.

Coastal flood warnings have also been issued for some Los Angeles and San Diego County beach cities.

The oncoming swell is more westerly than normal, allowing it to pass through the offshore islands without losing as much energy as normal, according to forecasters.

They predict that another strong west-northwest swell on Tuesday might cause waves of up to eight feet at some Orange County beaches.

“This is still early for our big wave season,” Surfline forecaster Kevin Noonan said. “This is only the beginning.”

He said coastal flooding will not be as severe as flooding caused by the El Nino-driven storms of 1982 and 1983.

But he said the National Weather Service has alerted forecasters to the possibility of a reawakened El Nino in the new year.