High surf warning: 30- to 40-foot breaking waves forecast on Del Norte coast through early Sunday

The National Weather Service in Eureka has a high surf warning in effect for coastal Del Norte County from 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, through 4 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, with dangerously large breaking waves of 30 to 40 feet forecast.

The warning also covers Northern Coastal Humboldt County on the same schedule, and Southwestern Humboldt County and Coastal Mendocino County starting at 4 p.m. Friday. The Weather Service last updated the warning at 7:30 a.m. Friday.

“Breaking waves can sweep people off jetties and docks, and into dangerous seas,” the warning says. “Life-threatening surf conditions and significant beach erosion can be expected.”

A very large northwest swell is expected to reach the coast Friday afternoon and evening, just as the morning’s strong winds and rain ease, and to last through Saturday, according to the Weather Service’s forecast discussion. Forecasters said the waves can be erratic and unpredictable, running far up beaches and washing over large rocks and jetties. Very large logs and tree stumps can be carried by the waves, low-lying parking lots next to beaches could take on water, and bluffs may erode during the peak of the swell Friday night.

“Please remain safe and avoid beaches, jetties, and bluffs during periods of high surf,” forecasters wrote.

Conditions are expected to improve only briefly late Saturday into Sunday. A second large swell is forecast to arrive late Sunday and continue through Monday, which forecasters said will likely warrant a high surf advisory, with breaking waves of around 25 feet.

Offshore, a hazardous seas warning is in effect through 3 p.m. Saturday for the coastal waters from Point St. George south to Cape Mendocino, with very steep seas of 22 to 27 feet within 10 nautical miles of shore. Mariners crossing the bar are urged to use extreme caution or stay in port, and to contact the U.S. Coast Guard for information about harbor and bar closures.

To the north, the Weather Service office in Medford has a high surf warning for the Curry County coast through 10 p.m. Monday. In Humboldt County, a coastal flood advisory is in effect from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday for low-lying areas around Humboldt Bay.

Current alerts for the area are posted at weather.gov/eka.