Forecasters are warning about dangerous conditions at Southern California beaches this week, with high surf, erosion and possible coastal flooding, as a pair of storms roil warm Pacific waters and send yet more southerly swells toward the shoreline.
Hurricane Polo and Tropical Storm Odalys are expected to affect ocean waters through the middle of the week. The most impactful swell should reach the region’s coastline Monday and Tuesday, with wave heights around 4 to 7 feet in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, 3 to 5 feet along the Santa Barbara south coast and as high as 7 feet at the Wedge in Newport Beach, according to the National Weather Service.
That swell will coincide with astronomical high tides in the late morning hours of Monday and Tuesday, which will probably reach around 7 feet, the forecast states. Those high tides are nearly a foot higher than usual due to the ongoing effects of a strong El Niño, which raises both sea surface temperatures and sea levels, according to the weather service.
Although this swell is slightly smaller than the one generated by Hurricane Marie earlier this month, some south-facing beaches, including in Long Beach, Malibu and Catalina Island’s Avalon Bay, are especially vulnerable because they have already sustained erosion, the forecast states. Localized structure damage is possible, as is shallow seawater flooding over low-lying beach walkways, parking lots and roads, according to the weather service.
The Pacific has been unusually active this season, according to National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec, with storm activity running above average during what is already the peak of hurricane season. He said that pattern is consistent with El Niño years, when the Pacific often sees more tropical storms and hurricanes.
Polo is expected to reach Mexico on Monday after crossing Baja California and could bring heavy rain and flooding to parts of the American Southwest later in the week.
Experts said it’s unusual to have an intense storm persist as a strong hurricane all the way into Baja, but Polo is being fueled by warm ocean temperatures that are helping the hurricane retain its structure and strength.
The Mexican navy said in a statement that it has gathered personnel and humanitarian aid in the ports of Guaymas and Mazatlan, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, and has deployed three vessels that could deliver aid to coastal communities isolated by the storm.
Hurricane Nolo is moving away from Hawaii after bringing strong winds and heavy rains to the Big Island this weekend.
The National Hurricane Center is also tracking Tropical Storm Rachel, which recently formed in the eastern Pacific well off Mexico’s southwest coast and could send more swells toward Southern California early next week. Those effects are most likely to take place after Sunday, according to the weather service.
Meanwhile, forecasters are calling for 3 to 8 degrees of warming in the Los Angeles region on Tuesday, with most coastal and valley areas reaching the 80s, and the warmest valleys notching temperatures in the lower 90s. The mountains and far interior could see an additional 3 to 6 degrees of warming Wednesday, and there’s a 40% chance the warmest valleys could reach triple digits Friday or Saturday, according to the forecast. Heat advisories are likely.
The weather service is also forecasting a widespread offshore wind event Tuesday, with the strongest winds through the Interstate 5 corridor and an area encompassing a few miles on either side of the Ventura and Los Angeles county lines, the forecast states.
Humidity levels in interior valleys and mountains are expected to drop with those winds but creep back up by Thursday, reaching 40% to 60%, which can feel a bit muggy by California standards, said Mike Wofford, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
Times staff writer Ian James and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
