Large waves made their way to the California coast Monday amid high surf warnings and watches that were scheduled to remain in place into Tuesday.
In Southern California, the largest waves are expected along the west-facing beaches of Ventura and San Diego counties.
Surf from 8 to 12 feet, with sets up to 15 feet, are expected in Ventura County. San Diego County beaches will see similar numbers with surf from 7 to 11 feet, and sets up to 13 feet, according to the National Weather Service.
Surf advisories have been issued for both counties, as well as for Los Angeles, Orange and Santa Barbara counties through 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Los Angeles County beach are expecting to see surf between 6 and 10 feet, with some sets reaching 12 feet, according to the Weather Service.
Although the surf is up in Southern California, the larger waves will be crashing into the beaches north of Point Conception.
High surf warnings have been issued until Tuesday morning for the Central Coast as waves reach between 18 and 25 feet, with sets climbing to 30 feet, according to the Weather Service.
The large, but erratic, waves were not consistent enough for officials to hold the Mavericks Challenge surf contest this week, The Mercury News reported.
“The wind is good, and conditions will be clean, but the swell will be dropping through the day on Thursday and we won’t have the consistency we need to run an excellent event,” the newspaper quoted World Surfing League tour Commissioner Mike Parsons as saying.
With the increased surf impacting most California beaches, Weather Service officials warned inexperienced swimmers and surfers to stay out of the water.