Oregon / Washington Coast Sneaker Waves Taper Off: Sunny, Calm Week

Published 01/31/25 at 5:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Oceanside, Oregon) – An increased chance of sneaker waves is still in the cards today for the entire Oregon coast and south Washington coast, just as king tides winds down. However, the region will see plenty of sunny days this week along with calm seas that will make for good beachcombing. (Above: Near Newport - Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

Temps won't always be so nice: nighttime lows are expected to drop below freezing this week, just as in Portland, Eugene and other inland areas. However, daytime highs remain mostly in the 50s on the coastlines, leaving them markedly warmer than areas like Silverton, McMinnville or Cottage Grove.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said sneaker waves are a good possibility along the beaches: from Westport, Long Beach, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Lincoln City and Newport down through Coos Bay, Port Orford and Brookings. Northwest beach towns are staring down offshore waves in the teens but with a high timing period between swells – which can cause sneaker waves.

Sneaker waves can be quite dangerous, knocking you down or even pulling you into the ocean.

Courtesy Cape Blanco Historical Society

That special statement is in effect through late Monday afternoon, but beach conditions mellow out considerably afterwards. There are small craft warnings in some areas until Tuesday and the Columbia Bar may pose problems until then, the NWS said.

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

“Otherwise, relatively benign conditions expected across the waters starting late Monday and persisting through the middle of the week as high pressure becomes more established over the region,” the NWS said. “Seas remain dominated by a mid to long period westerly swell, but seas are expected to remain around 7 to 10 ft through at least the middle of the week.”

The forecast for the entire Pacific Northwest coastal region is fairly similar this week, showing sunny to mostly sunny skies from Monday through Thursday, with increasing clouds on and off from Friday through Sunday.

Cape Foulweather - Oregon Coast Beach Connection

Temps are generally in the 40s or 50s during the day, but Wednesday may reach close to a balmy 60 degrees in many areas, especially the south Oregon shoreline.

Even the coast may get some early morning frost, but inland temps will be dropping to freezing or below this week. Cloudless skies will have something to do with that as they do not keep warm air down.

Cannon Beach - Oregon Coast Beach Connection

“If you're in the Willamette Valley or along the central Oregon Coast there's a decent chance you just end up dry through this period,” the NWS said.

Netarts - Oregon Coast Beach Connection

This is a good week to get out to Washington and Oregon beaches and check out what is on the sands. A couple of glass floats have been found on the Washington side in recent weeks, and storm erosion may be showing things like bedrock or ghost forests. (Where to Find Oregon Coast Ghost Forests)

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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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