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Wet weather incoming
The Bay Area is bracing for a series of storms.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - The Bay Area is bracing for a series of storms set to sweep through over the weekend, with rain expected to roll through Friday morning. The incoming weather has prompted hazardous beach conditions warnings stretching from Monterey to north of Santa Rosa.
The National Weather Service said it cannot stress enough how dangerous ocean and beach conditions will be this weekend. To prepare for the incoming weather, the United States Coast Guard said officers will be on hand to advise boaters and beach goers of the risks.
"Anyone conducting waterborne activities needs to stay alert, stay prepared and stay ready for these hazardous conditions that are coming through," said Lt. John Corvino from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Timeline of the rainstorms and dangerous waves that will hit the Bay Area
Rain returns to the Bay Area on Friday with a dangerous surf building for Saturday.
Massive surf hits Ocean Beach
Local perspective:
As the storms roll in, high surf was already slamming Ocean Beach on Thursday with massive waves that are expected to grow over the weekend, bringing the possibility of 25- to 30-foot surf.
Tony Corso visited Ocean Beach with his camera to capture the conditions ahead of the storm.
"Today's only supposed to be 10-15. I'm just out for some cool pictures," said Corso. "I was hoping to find more surfers out here today. There was one guy earlier. He did not look like he was very successful. But, I'm just scouting out some spots because on Saturday there are supposed to be some monster waves."
Bay Area vulnerable to extreme winter flooding, UC Davis report warns
A new report from the UC Davis Road Ecology Center warns that a combination of King Tides, a Kelvin Wave, and El Niño conditions could cause severe winter flooding across the Bay Area.
Erosion impacts Crissy Field East Beach
Other low-lying areas around the region are already showing ominous signs of the incoming weather, including massive waves crashing ashore at Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge.
At Crissy Field East Beach, where the sand usually extends out 100 to 200 feet, the water has eaten away at the shoreline and sits just a few feet away from the retaining wall. Regular visitors noticed the drastic change immediately.
"Well, we were just getting out of the car and had to take a picture because we've never seen it cut like this so close to the wall," said Anne Pagan.
El Niño pattern threatens coastal flooding
Big picture view:
Climate experts are warning that this series of storms may be just the beginning of a wet winter. The El Niño pattern is warming the water, causing it to swell and potentially lead to flooding in some coastal communities.
Because of higher-than-usual tides, experts note there is nowhere for rainwater to go when a storm hits the coast.
"When the water's that high, if you do have rain on land there's really no place for the water to go," explained Mark Merrifield from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD. "You're going to have to shut down storm drains to stop the water coming up from the ocean. So, it's the inability to drain that's really going to be an issue when you get these compounding flooding events."
The Source: Information for this story comes from the National Weather Service, the U.S. Coast Guard and interviews with beachgoers and Mark Merrifield of UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.