SoCal Storm Watch for Beach Erosion....

[SoCalBeachScanner]

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This morning at 5AM, I headed to Seal Beach to check out the beach erosion situation. When I arrived, there was already three media vans in the parking lot just waiting for the worst to happen. The problem is, the high surf has not come in yet. The surf was the same (3-5ft) as yesterday afternoon, but with a 20 knot wind this morning. I talked to one of the media vans and told them the high surf has not arrived, so not much to film. We both agreed that the media was there because it makes good TV weather reporting being this storm is SoCal's biggest storm in several years, along with the drought situation. I told them, the best chance of any minor flooding would be at tonight's high tide if very high swells arrives today.

At 5AM this morning it was three hours before high tide, so in between rain cells, I made a quick pass scanning down the beach mid-slope and on the way back I hit higher up at the high tide/cut mark. I was looking for areas of concentrations of targets that might have eroded out from last nights high tide. Only found scatter coins in the half hour I was out. Not much change from last nights high tide from when I was out there scanning yesterday afternoon at low tide.

After I made the quick pass scanning at Seal Beach this morning, I went to Huntington Beach to check out the erosion situation there. The Huntington Beach photo was while it was still dark out, but you can see the current high tide mark vs the erosion cut 30ft higher up from the high surf we had a couple weeks ago. So hopefully by tomorrow and Sunday, some new erosion will take place when the high swell arrives. I went back to Seal Beach to take some photos when it lighten up some.

Here are some photos and a video from this morning......

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Video of Surrounding Area -This is my first attempt to add a cell phone video>>>> MD Select - YouTube


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This picture is from several years ago went storm surge went around the sand berm. The city builds a sand berm every year in the Fall and removes it in early Spring. You can see the sand berm in the photos from this morning to the right of the media vans.




The last two pictures are from March 4th, 1983, when a very strong storm, with a higher than normal high tide, with a monster swell from the west, took out the Seal Beach pier.

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

So-Ca-beach-scanner, than for the pix. And you're right: Whenever there's a surf-advisory posted, the clue-less media shows up to get a shot at the "monster waves". But what they don't know or pay attention to, is the precise timing of such events. You know, like the scanner will say that a "high surf advisory starts today", so they rush to the beach. However, perhaps the swells trains don't arrive till 2pm, and they're there at 9am. Or they're inside sheltered beaches that face north, while the incoming surf is poised at SW facing beaches, etc.... They just don't know, as it's not their gig like it is ours

Hey, looking at the Magic Seaweed actual map-models, it appears that the absolute peak height of the swell train to reach you guys in So. CA, will actually be after lunch on Saturday. More like more towards tomorrow PM (albeit still rough leading up to that). So if I were you guys, and assuming this timing plays out in the actual hourly buoy reports, I'd also be checking out the erosion that will be occurring at the 2nd high tide down there on Saturday: 9:30pm -ish. So by 1:30 or 2am-ish on Sunday, you guys might be in for a totally new crop of targets !! And look at the bright side: if you're down on the beach at 2am, you'll only be there with a few other geeks all alone in the dark !

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Also, regarding your pix of the 1983 storms, that was one of the final storms that year ('82-83) that was actually about 6 major storms in succession. Ie.: every 2 or 3 weeks that winter it seemed (starting in about November of '82), a big storm and swell raked CA. And against all odds, every single last one of those storms and swells arrived at the exact times of the highest possible tides. Hence doing the most major damage erosion possible. And in each case, the beach had no time to repair itself (mother nature did not re-sand-fill her beaches) before the next rounds would appear. So the action just kept getting hotter and hotter! Don't get me started talking about that ! haha

There was a guy working the El Segundo area beaches that year (not necessarily the older beaches of So. CA, as you know, it's mostly a post-war sprawl area), who describes one single week of that year's storms, where ...... for an entire 5 to 7 day period, he had silver counts of no less than 100+ silver coins PER DAY! Essentially as fast as he could dig. And he never left for lack of targets each day, but more like because: a) batteries died, b) had to go to work, c) too tired to dig anymore, etc.... At the end of that week, he actually had to admit himself to the hospital for repetitive stress of the wrist from metal detecting too much ! Searing pain that he couldn't move a muscle in that arm! The doctor told him "no more detecting till this heals", but he ignored the doctor, and was out there every day for the continuing erosion going on , haha

 

[SoCalBeachScanner]

So-Ca-beach-scanner, than for the pix. And you're right: Whenever there's a surf-advisory posted, the clue-less media shows up to get a shot at the "monster waves". But what they don't know or pay attention to, is the precise timing of such events. You know, like the scanner will say that a "high surf advisory starts today", so they rush to the beach. However, perhaps the swells trains don't arrive till 2pm, and they're there at 9am. Or they're inside sheltered beaches that face north, while the incoming surf is poised at SW facing beaches, etc.... They just don't know, as it's not their gig like it is ours

Hey, looking at the Magic Seaweed actual map-models, it appears that the absolute peak height of the swell train to reach you guys in So. CA, will actually be after lunch on Saturday. More like more towards tomorrow PM (albeit still rough leading up to that). So if I were you guys, and assuming this timing plays out in the actual hourly buoy reports, I'd also be checking out the erosion that will be occurring at the 2nd high tide down there on Saturday: 9:30pm -ish. So by 1:30 or 2am-ish on Sunday, you guys might be in for a totally new crop of targets !! And look at the bright side: if you're down on the beach at 2am, you'll only be there with a few other geeks all alone in the dark !

Thanks for the info Tom ... You know me, I love to scan in the dark, and I have already eyed that early morning low tide on Sunday. I have never seen anyone scanning at the butt crack of dawn when I am out there. I will be hitting several beaches over the next several days the that get torn up.

 

[Qlipphotic]

Thanks for the info Tom ... You know me, I love to scan in the dark, and I have already eyed that early morning low tide on Sunday. I have never seen anyone scanning at the butt crack of dawn when I am out there. I will be hitting several beaches over the next several days the that get torn up.

SoCal, now that I have my CTX, would you like a hunting buddy for this weekend at those spots? I was planning on going out at the butt crack of dawn as well, might as well make it a group effort

 

[sponge]

Can you guys send some of that fetch this way. We might be getting some juice next weekend. The have been way off on the forcasts lately. Have fun with the storm hunt. Humm the McDonald's tune in your head. Damit Jim

 

[SoCalBeachScanner]

SoCal, now that I have my CTX, would you like a hunting buddy for this weekend at those spots? I was planning on going out at the butt crack of dawn as well, might as well make it a group effort

Hi Qlipphotic ... I know we talked about getting together for a hunt. Huntington Beach and Newport Beach get the largest swells and I will be bouncing all over to selected areas within a short amount of time. Maybe we should save a group hunt for a day hunt.

 

[Qlipphotic]

Hi Qlipphotic ... I know we talked about getting together for a hunt. Huntington Beach and Newport Beach get the largest swells and I will be bouncing all over to selected areas within a short amount of time. Maybe we should save a group hunt for a day hunt.

Whatever works . I'm gonna be down in Huntington Saturday and Sunday morning probably right before sunrise to get an early start. I've just started to take my CTX into the water so I'm learning that part of it. Trying to

 

[Qlipphotic]

Also, since we'll probably be out around the same time, if you see a young guy with a Minelab and looking confused, that's me