Storm Brings No Good Waves to Surf

Surfers tempted by forecasts of 19-foot waves were warned today by lifeguards that local, chaotic storm conditions wiped out the strong swells arriving from the Antarctic.

Wind-whipped, chaotic waves were the story along the south-facing stretches of Zuma and Surfrider beaches, according to lifeguards.

"It's out of control waves, bad shape," was the summary of the 7 a.m. Zuma Beach surf report from the lifeguard headquarters there.

One person was pulled out of the surf, uninjured, by county lifeguards at Will Rogers State Beach just before noon, but no further details were available. The ocean water was reported to be a relatively-warm 59 degrees.

Several Internet surf reports had predicted waves in the 15-19 foot range to break at Zuma Beach today, as swells from a storm in the Southern Hemisphere arrived here.

Near the Getty Villa museum, huge swells were observed today bashing into a temporary steel beam seawall, where the shoreline is being reconstructed. Foamy water was blasted 20 feet into the air as swells met steel.

No coastal flooding was reported at Seal Beach, however, from the 6.1 foot high tide this morning.

--City News Service