Sneaker Wave Dangers Along Oregon Coast; Freeze Warning South

Published 11/29/24 at 7:25 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Coos Bay, Oregon) – Chilly but sunny; a bit dangerous yet oddly not spectacular: that's the curious weather forecast for this weekend along the Oregon coast. There's a sizable danger of sneaker waves on both halves of the coastline, warns the National Weather Service (NWS), but it's a slightly unusual circumstance that's driving them, which won't mean spectacular waves. (Above: Cape Kiwanda, Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

The southern Oregon coast is the only section of the state with a freeze warning in place for tonight through Saturday morning, and although temps will be in the chilly 50s to 30s for the beaches the skies will be clear and mostly sunny for the next few days.

The NWS issued a sneaker wave hazards statement for Douglas, Coos and Curry counties on the south coat for Sunday, saying there's “A high risk of sneaker waves is expected.”

The culprit is not waves that are particularly high, just extreme long timing periods between wave swells. These are at 20 seconds at times in the areas around Brookings, Port Orford, Bandon, Reedsport and Coos Bay, but waves themselves are only about 7 feet in height.

Cape Meares, Oregon Coast Beach Connection

“Sneaker waves can run up significantly farther on beaches than normal, including over rocks and jetties,” the NWS said. “These waves can suddenly knock people off of their feet and quickly pull them into the cold ocean waters, resulting in serious injury or death. Waves may also lift driftwood logs, trapping anyone caught underneath.”

On the northern half (from Florence through to the Washington coast), the NWS office in Portland has not issued a separate hazards statement like farther south, but it has said on parts of its digital outreach that there is an increased threat of sneaker waves on the beaches that day – and that the public should be careful.

Period timing is 17 seconds or so over the weekend, but wave height is slightly less at 4 to 7 feet.

Wave height this size will not bring larger wave sets to places like Cape Disappointment or to Shore Acres, but it will instead present dangers on sandy stretches. Small beaches with walls of cliffs behind them will be a bad idea, such as at Otter Point near Gold Beach or Gleneden Beach near Depoe Bay.

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

There is a freeze warning for the south coast midnight tonight through 9 a.m. Saturday. Sub-freezing temps as low as 30 are expected around Lakeside, Charleston, Coos Bay and Bandon.

The NWS said frost could kill sensitive vegetation.

After Sunday, sunny skies and calmer seas will make for great beachcombing along the coast, and at night it will be good for stargazing.

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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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