California King Tides as seen around Los Angeles County yesterday. King tides represent the highest tides of the year and bring about the largest tide swings. Sunday's tide swings were around 9 feet in difference with a high of 7.2' at 8:02 AM and low of -2.0 at 3:25 PM.

A rainy day tour of Venice Beach with J.MAXEUS.

Aerial surfing of single fin logger Kassia Meador. We’ve seen Kassia surf out at Malibu & San Onofre and she’s as smooth as It gets on a longboard. Her style & easy flowing approach on waves is a pleasure to see In person. Here’s a couple waves on a magical evening glass off from HULA SURF T.V.

A fairly significant pattern shift is expected in the Gulf of Alaska this weekend. The persistent ridge of high pressure over the region will finally break down as models indicate strong low pressure developing in the region. That suggests potential for longer period NW swell mid to late next week. Most of the fetch is looking pretty steep (300+) for Southern California, which will limit size, but it should still offer a few fun waves for good winter breaks. Average breaks run waist-stomach high with lully sets to chest high for good spots later Tuesday into Wednesday the 5th. More mid-period, NW swell mix may follow for next weekend thanks to a storm expected to push across the northeast Pacific towards the West Coast. The direction is a touch more westerly than the midweek pulse and the period looks a bit shorter, so the nature of the swell could help spread a few more waves across the region.

The last King Tides of this winter is Monday, January 3rd.

Unusually high "King Tides" up to 7.3 feet will affect our beaches. Minor coastal overflow will be possible in some areas, along with a chance of minor beach erosion.

While the term "King Tide" isn't a scientific term, it is used to describe very high tides, caused when there is alignment of the gravitational pull between sun, moon, and Earth. When King Tides occur during floods or storms, water levels can rise higher and have the potential to cause great damage to the coastline and coastal property.



The sea level rise we're experiencing now and will experience in the future is caused by the growing concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere created when people burn fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. Carbon dioxide in our atmosphere acts like a blanket, trapping in heat that would otherwise escape, and when we burn fossil fuels, we're adding more carbon dioxide, "thickening the blanket" and warming the planet and ocean. Sea level is rising because land-based glaciers and ice sheets are melting into the ocean and also because water expands in volume when it warms. Increases in global sea levels have been recorded by tide gauges since the late 1800s, and more recent observations have been collected by NASA satellites. The amount of sea level rise we will ultimately experience will depend on how quickly we stop burning fossil fuels.

California will be greatly impacted by sea level rise. For example, San Francisco is projected to see a rise between 1.1 and 2.7 feet by 2050, and by 2100 could experience between 2.4 and 6.9 feet of sea level rise with a potential for more than 10 feet of rise if there is extreme melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet.



King Tides themselves are not caused by sea level rise, but allow us to experience what higher sea level will be like. King Tides are the highest high tides of the year, about a foot or two higher than average high tides, which corresponds to the one to two foot rise in sea level expected during the next few decades. When you observe the King Tides, imagine seeing these tides (and the associated flooded streets, beaches, and wetlands) almost daily. Understanding what a King Tide looks like today will help us plan for sea level rise in the future and motivate us to stop burning fossil fuels. Sharing your photos and talking about what you've noticed helps others understand that they're part of a community that cares about climate change.



Visit California King Tides Project to learn more.

The rain has subsided, but the rock fall hasn’t. Use caution driving the canyons. The Malibu hillsides are unstable and saturated. Boulders and rocks will continue coming down for days or weeks after rain storms have ceased.

From PMTV:

Dozens of people were evacuated Thursday morning at a Malibu campground after a slow-moving and strong storm brought hours of steady rain to Southern California.

Cars and pickups were partially submerged in rising water at Leo Carrillo State Beach campground. The city of Malibu said people were evacuated with help from firefighters and lifeguards. Others sought shelter on higher ground.

"We had some campers that were trapped, unable to make it higher ground, due to fast-moving water,'' said Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Ron Haralson. "Their vehicles were flooded up to the doors."

In a tweet, the fire department said about 50 people were helped to safety.

Authorities were dispatched to the scene at 4:22 a.m. The rescue effort also included personnel from the Ventura County Fire Department, the city of Malibu reported.

"We're still at the scene working with campground (officials) and their list of campers to confirm that we removed everybody and everyone is accounted for,'' Haralson said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

"We knew it was going to rain, but we didn't know the river was going to flood," said camper Susan Hawkins. "Our friends came out of their trailer and said, 'You need to come in.' Shortly after that, the fire department arrived and said, 'You guys need to go.'"

Due to inclement weather forecasted for this weekend, the City of Santa Monica’s Polar Bear Swim at the Annenberg Community Beach House is postponed from Sunday, January 2 to Sunday, January 9, 2022.

While online registration for the event is full, registration for the ocean swim portion of the event is not required. Availability of walk-up passes to the pool and pool deck is anticipated the morning of the event, in limited capacity. Please contact the Annenberg Community Beach House with any questions at (310) 458-4904.