Hurricane Marie Drives Dangerous Surf, Flooding at Southern California Beaches
Hurricane Marie, churning hundreds of miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean, generated massive waves and dangerous rip currents along Southern California beaches over the Labor Day weekend, prompting hundreds of water rescues, coastal flooding and widespread safety warnings from officials.
Some south-facing beaches saw surf up to 10 feet (3 meters) high, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld, who described conditions as “life-threatening.” The storm, though it never made landfall, sent a powerful southerly swell toward the coast while tropical moisture brought rare September rainfall to the region.
A Busy Holiday Weekend for Lifeguards
Newport Beach lifeguards carried out 177 rescues on Saturday alone, according to Adam Yacenda, lifeguard battalion chief for the Newport Beach fire department. Over the full holiday weekend, lifeguards rescued 425 people and conducted an additional 6,500 preventative actions, along with 55 medical responses and six boat calls, according to city officials.
“Any time you’re approaching over 100, that’s a busy day,” Yacenda told AP News. “We are red-flag conditions from one end of our beach to the other.”
Los Angeles County lifeguards anticipated more than 1,000 water rescues during the holiday weekend, compared with roughly 500 on a normal day.
Coastal Flooding and Infrastructure Impacts
Massive waves flooded streets in Long Beach on Sunday, washing away eight-foot berms built along the shore and forcing lifeguards to evacuate people from the boardwalk. Residents in the Alamitos Peninsula area raced to keep floodwater out of their homes as swells overwhelmed storm drains clogged with sand.
“We have had, all day, it’s been pretty intense,” Jen, a Long Beach peninsula resident of 13 years, told ABC7. “From 2 p.m. on, the swells got really large, and then the drains were either blocked or not working. And then it overflows into our block and into a few of the other blocks and into our houses.”
Long Beach Fire Department crews deployed portable pumps to remove standing water, and city crews planned to rebuild compromised berms Monday morning.
In Seal Beach, water inundated parking lots near the pier, and the city announced it would close two beachfront parking lots until Wednesday morning to protect life and property. The Seal Beach Municipal Pier remained open. Long-time resident Clifford Scarborough described the conditions as unprecedented for the area.
“This is crazy. I’ve lived here for 20+ years, and usually we get like 1- to 2-foot waves,” Scarborough told ABC7. “But when we get the storm to come in here, it’s like, crazy. We’re just not used to that.”
Storm Impacts Beyond the Coastline
The storm’s effects extended well beyond the shoreline. In Glendale, electricity was temporarily knocked out for more than 4,000 customers, while a large tree fell onto two vehicles in Los Feliz, sending one person to the hospital in fair condition, according to NY Post. Malibu beaches were temporarily shut down Sunday afternoon after lightning moved into the area.
Long Beach’s city health officer issued an advisory warning people not to swim at any of the city’s beaches or bays for at least three days due to runoff from storm drains and rivers. An ocean water quality rain advisory was also issued for all Los Angeles County beaches until Wednesday, advising people to avoid ocean water contact for at least 72 hours after rain.
A Rare Triple Hurricane Event
Marie was one of three simultaneous hurricanes in the Pacific Ocean in early September, along with Lowell and Karina — a rare event last seen in September 2015. The triple-hurricane activity was fueled by strong El Niño conditions that have warmed Pacific waters and reduced wind shear, creating favorable conditions for storm formation, according to EarthSky.
Marie, the weakest of the three storms with sustained winds of 85 mph (129 kph), was located hundreds of miles southwest of Southern California. It was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical cyclone on Sunday night and was expected to weaken further into a post-tropical remnant low by Wednesday.
Coastal Erosion Concerns
The powerful surf also accelerated coastal erosion along vulnerable stretches of coastline. At the Wedge in Newport Beach, erosion exposed remnants of construction from the 1930s and 1940s. Newport Beach City Councilmember Erik Weigand said he recently pulled a sharp metal object from the sand that had been uncovered by the shifting shoreline.
Newport Beach spent approximately $20,000 to hire extra contractors to build protective berms in four days — instead of the usual two weeks — ahead of the storm, according to CBS News. The berms were constructed 20 feet high and 20 feet wide, significantly larger than in previous years.
What’s Next
A High Surf Advisory and Coastal Flood Advisory remained in effect through 11 p.m. Tuesday for portions of the Los Angeles County coast. The National Hurricane Center warned that dangerous beach conditions were expected to last for another couple of days.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service reported waves up to 10 feet at some beaches, including Zuma Beach, with strong rip currents continuing to pose a threat. High tides were expected to exceed 7 feet by Monday, and waves of 5 to 8 feet were forecast along exposed south-facing shores.
While Marie’s moisture is expected to pull away, officials urged beachgoers to exercise caution as dangerous surf and rip currents could persist even as skies clear. Southern California is expected to transition to warmer and drier conditions beginning Monday, with temperatures climbing above normal by midweek.