Large waves are on their way back to San Diego's coasts this week, but it won't be quite like the high surf we saw over the weekend. Here's what to expect.
The National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory that will remain in place through Thursday night. According to the agency, high surf will peak Thursday, this time with breaking waves from 7 to 10 feet.
For beachgoers, it’s been hard to miss the sand walls or "beach berms" that now line the coast.
Those sand walls are not the work of amateur sand castle builders. City crews put up those beach berms last week to keep beaches from further coastal erosion as high surf and high tide hit coasts across San Diego County this past weekend.
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The City of San Diego tells NBC 7 that while no additional berms will be added, crews are ensuring the ones in place are maintained in preparation for storm events and high surf conditions.
Back in Coronado, crews are also taking the same approach. In an emailed statement, the city said those berms would be in place through the current high surf event.
On Wednesday morning, you could also see additional work in front of the Hotel Del Coronado.
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“They’re berming up sand to protect the Hotel Del Coronado and the beach in front of it,” Coronado Lifeguard Captain Sean Carey said.
A bulldozer pushed and piled sand up to the Paseo Del Mar, a walkway not only for the coastal runner or beach walker — but also an access road for emergency vehicles too.
“We’re trying to prevent the paseo from being undermined and keep it accessible to emergency vehicles and pedestrians,” Carey said.
Why are the waves so big in San Diego lately?
While Thursday's high surf won’t be like this past weekend, you might be wondering, where did those large waves come from?
James Behrens, a research engineer with the Coastal Data Information Program explains some of those contributing factors.
”This occurred because the tides are high, the sea levels up a bit because of the warmer temperature creates just an overall expansion of the ocean and so this brought the waves further into shore," Behrens said.
CDIP is focused on making precise wave measurements, Behrens said. Along the coast and around the world, they use wave-sensing buoys. While you can’t see these bobbing in the water from the beach, these buoys are recording and collecting data every 30 minutes.
”We have the sensors out there all the time and recording constantly,” Behrens said.
He says the winds that are blowing locally create waves that take five to 10 seconds to pass by. Those create choppy waves.
“The waves that are any longer than 10 seconds between the peaks are generated by winds and storms that are far away,” Behrens said.
In the meantime, Carey urges beachgoers to keep their distance from the ocean during the high surf.
”We’re looking at a couple of potentially very significant winters back to back as far as wave height and frequency and high tides and coastal erosion,” Carey said.
