Big, Dangerous Surf Expected At SoCal Beaches As Tropical Storm Hilary Makes Land

The most experienced surfers may be chomping at the bit for the south swell Hurricane Hilary is bringing to Southern California beaches this weekend, but be warned: Waves are expected to be dangerously supercharged.

10- to 15-foot waves forecast

“Because of the configuration of the Southern California coast, the biggest waves should be L.A. and Orange County,” said Alex Tardy, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “And by big I mean 10 to 15 feet of surf pounding on those beaches starting Sunday, lasting into early Monday.”

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South-facing beaches will see the biggest surf, starting around 4 to 7 feet and ramping up to 10 feet or more by Monday. There’s a high surf advisory in effect for Orange County starting at 8 a.m. on Sunday.

A good swell hitting Southern California can often lead to waves as high as 6 to 8 feet, but this time there will be heavy rain and 40 to 50-mph winds, with some gusts up to 60 mph.

What to expect

The combination could lead to an unusual amount of flooding for those who live near the coast, particularly the stretch between Long Beach and Newport Beach, Tardy said.

“It’s atypical" Tardy said. "So more than the king tide, more than a big atmospheric river,. So if you're in a flood-prone area, you've got to do something — sandbags, making sure the drains and gutters are cleared.”

He said downed trees and power lines are also likely with the wind forecast and recommends avoiding the beach and any travel starting late Saturday evening.

A surfer's perspective

But for many experienced surfers, a hurricane is a rare chance at catching historic waves that could become the story of a lifetime.

Gerard McMahon works at Jack’s Surfboards in Huntington Beach. He grew up in Long Beach and usually surfs anywhere from Seal Beach down to San Diego. He’s been surfing for eight years and is keeping a close eye on the forecast.

“If I have the free time, I will definitely most likely try and go out either over in Huntington or anywhere close by if we get an actual clean swell,” he said.

But McMahon, who is 23, learned his lesson on the potentially life-threatening dangers of surfing during a hurricane. In 2018, he and friends went out to catch remnants of Hurricane Sergio, which brought some parts of the Southland double overhead waves — surfer lingo for wave height of about 12 to 14 feet.

“I decided to listen to some friends and I was using my 9-foot longboard,” McMahon said. “It was definitely one of the most crazy experiences I've had surfing. I got stuck in the impact zone. I lost count, but some of my friends were saying that I got hit by about 10 of them. I made it back to shore and as I was gasping for air, a lot of my friends and surf team members were hearing this vibration noise and they realized as they got closer to me, it was actually my lungs were vibrating because of all the salt water in my lungs.”

This time he’ll definitely be taking one of his short boards, he said. And he warned against paddling out if you’re not really experienced or physically fit enough to make it all the way out past breaking waves and back to shore. Especially because first responders will be stretched thin dealing with the impacts of the storm.

“Always watch the swell and kind of see what you're getting yourself into,” McMahon said. “If you think it's too big for your experience level, then it's definitely something that you should not be doing.”