Bad Beachcombing, Great Storm Watching: Waves 25 – 30 ft on Oregon, Washington Coast

Published 12/20/24 at 8:05 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Rockaway Beach, Oregon) – Two different surf advisories have been issued for parts of the Oregon coast and Washington coast this weekend, and both indicate extremely large wave height and periods between swells, creating some very dangerous conditions. It's going to be bad for beachcombing (unless you like drowning) but excellent for stormwatching from afar. (Photo of Shore Acres Oregon's Adventure Coast)

The National Weather Service (NWS) has left them at surf advisory category for now, but may escalate them to warnings. Indeed, the numbers are surprisingly big for mere advisories, and the coming week looks hazardous as well.

On the southern Oregon coast, waves 21 – 25 feet are expected, creating a surf advisory in effect for Saturday and Sunday. However, there is more to the story: this could increase over the weekend.

“Another strong front may bring even higher swells causing breaking waves from 25 to 30 feet Sunday night into early next week,” the NWS said.

That is for areas around Brookings, Gold Beach, Port Orford, Bandon, Reedsport and Coos Bay.

On the northern half of the Oregon coast and southern Washington coast, the advisory is in effect Saturday through Monday – one that's unusually long. There, waves 25 to 30 feet may come breaking onshore.

This is for Westport, Long Beach, Seaview, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Nehalem Bay, Pacific City, Lincoln City, Newport and Florence.

See  Oregon Coast Weather (including tides) - Inland Oregon Weather

“Seas in excess of 15 to 20 feet with a period of around 20 seconds could result as breaking waves approaching 25 to 30 feet in the surf zone,” the NWS said.

The NWS is emphasizing “destructive waves” as a likelihood at times.

Surf numbers like this will bring an excellent show to areas like Shore Acres near Coos Bay or Cape Disappointment in Washington, as well as rocky areas like Otter Point, just below Humbug Mountain, Yachats or Oceanside. However, make sure you are not close to the surf.

“A High Surf Advisory means that high surf will affect beaches, producing rip currents, sneaker waves and beach erosion,” the NWS said. “Stay well back from the water's edge and be alert for exceptionally high waves.”

'Wave Height' Explained Along Oregon, Washington Coast: What It Means What does it mean when the NWS says '30-foot waves' are coming onshore?

A variety of gale warnings and small craft warnings have been enacted offshore, and heavy winds out there usually translate to big waves eventually coming onto the coastline.

That plus other storm fronts coming look to push wave height into the teens and near 30 feet at times early this week, according to NWS predictions so far.

“Beachgoers should be prepared for dangerous surf conditions and large waves running far up onto the beach beginning late Sunday and continuing through early next week,” the NWS said.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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