“It’s almost so big you can’t even paddle out, you get blasted back to the sand”
The biggest swell of the season so far slammed the California coastline on Tuesday, Dec. 18, sending surfers scrambling to find the best waves.
The swell started showing up Monday and by Tuesday morning, some areas of Southern California saw waves upwards of 10 to 12 feet.
In Northern California on Monday, a contest at Mavericks surf break had to be put on hold because waves were too large — more than 50 feet tall.
The surf is expected to drop slightly Wednesday before another run of swell shows up on Thursday to keep waves in the 4-6 foot range in most stand-out spots.
The National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory, which also warned of flooding in low-lying areas. A small-craft advisory was also in place Tuesday.
In the South Bay, waves at some spots were in the 8-to-12-foot range, said LA County ocean lifeguard specialist Pono Barnes.
