Big Breakers Bash Beaches; Sunshine to Banish Clouds

A storm off Antarctica has unleashed a powerful Southern Hemisphere swell that slammed Orange County on Thursday, bringing breakers as large as 12 feet to southern-facing beaches.

“In January, we had a couple of good swells, but this could be the top swell we’ve had all year,” said Chris Borg of Surfline/Wavetrak, a Huntington Beach forecast firm.

On the weather front, the threat of rain will all but disappear today as coastal fog and low clouds return but are expected to burn off as temperatures climb.

“We can expect to get back to more sunshine by Friday and through the weekend,” said Rob Kaczmarek, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which conducts forecasts for The Times.

Temperatures on the coast will hit the low 70s today, but high humidity will keep parts of Orange County muggy. Inland, the mercury will reach the upper 70s, Kaczmarek said, and possibly the lower 80s Saturday.

With ocean water remaining unusually warm, Thursday’s humidity and high surf gave a tropical flavor to the Gold Coast, especially for surfers and swimmers who braved the waves. Water temperatures ranged from 65 in Huntington Beach to nearly 71 in San Clemente.

Borg predicted the surf could be as strong or stronger today from the same powerful swell, which is expected to remain through the weekend. The swell developed off Antarctica from a powerful storm there that sent high winds and waves all the way to California.

George Lambert, 31, a Huntington Beach surfer, said Thursday’s waves at high tide were so big and powerful that he saw as many as four surfers walking out with surfboards split in half.

Veteran Huntington Beach surfer Robert Bailey, 42, said he watched the swell pick up Wednesday and knew surfers would be hooting and hollering out there Thursday.

“It’s a time where only the most advanced surfers should be out there,” Bailey said.

Kurt Steinmetz, 28, also of Huntington Beach and a state lifeguard, took advantage of the surf size and paddled out at Huntington State Beach, where some sets were a towering 10 feet.

“It was big and powerful,” Steinmetz said.

Lifeguards were kept busy with rescues, and many beaches flew the red flag, warning swimmers of the dangerous conditions.

The powerful swell literally kept San Clemente’s lifeguard tower “rocking and rolling” throughout the day, San Clemente lifeguard Pat Caldwell said.

“The red flag and big surf are keeping a lot of people out of the water,” he said. “We saw some swimmers start to go out, and they got pounded back in.”

At Newport Beach, conditions were more dangerous with high surf and powerful rip currents.

“The swimmers were getting pulled out on rip currents, and we had to make about 20 rescues but had no injuries,” lifeguard Brent Raneke said, adding that lifeguards reported waves 10- to 12-foot high at 15th Street and 44th Street north to the Santa Ana River Jetty.

But John Esguerra, 25, of Huntington Beach said he had a great time surfing at Newport Pier.

“I was excited out there, especially pulling into the barrels right next to the pier,” Esguerra said.

The famed Wedge in Newport Beach was an exciting backdrop to those brave enough who zipped down Wedge monsters that reportedly reached 12 to 15 feet Thursday.