South Oregon Coast Surf Advisory, Big Waves Northern Half

Published 12/10/2019 at 5:35 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast) – The southern Oregon coast will soon be under a high surf advisory with waves as large as 25 feet breaking on the beaches of places like Bandon, Coos Bay, Gold Beach or Reedsport. The northern half of the coast will see wave height close to that a day earlier, while all of the coastline (and indeed the world) will get to witness some fun astronomical phenomena. (Above: Shore Acres State Park, courtesy Oregon State Parks and Recreation).

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Medford has issued a high surf advisory, in effect from 4 a.m. Thursday to 7 p.m. Friday. Waves as high as 20 to 25 feet could be hitting the shoreline. Offshore, combined seas are just below 20 feet but they will be propelled further up the beaches by long period swells.

“Large breaking waves will create hazardous conditions along and within the surf zone,” the NWS office in Medford said. “Beach erosion is possible, and exposed infrastructure may be damaged.”

The Portland office of the NWS is predicting higher combined seas offshore but there is less energy to them because of shorter period swells. A meteorologist in the Portland office told Oregon Coast Beach Connection waves on the northern half – which include Yachats, Seaside, Lincoln City, Oceanside, Manzanita and more – are just under their criteria for an advisory. Offshore, combined seas on the northern half of the coastline will reach as high as 23 feet on Wednesday but there’s not nearly as much energy behind them to push them onshore.

Heavy rain and lots of clouds are in the forecast for the south coast throughout the week until Saturday: this is when conditions calm a little bit, leading to a sunny Sunday. On the northern half, it’s largely the same forecast except mostly cloudy on Sunday.

All of the Oregon coast may experience thunderstorms on Thursday.

The end result is some good storm watching, especially on the south coast. Areas like Shore Acres State Park near Bandon or the Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor will be putting on a show. Other rocky spots like the basalt shelves of Yachats and Depoe Bay should be spectacular, as will Oceanside and perhaps Pacific City.

Meanwhile, above the clouds, the Geminid meteor shower will be peaking on Friday and Saturday, and on Thursday the Full Cold Moon happens. According to Portland’s OMSI, on December 10 and 11, look low southwest just after sunset, for the conjunction of two bright planets, Venus and Saturn.

All this is likely for naught, however, as clouds are almost certainly in the way. But if there are breaks between clouds at night, make sure you look up on those nights. See Oregon Coast Weather

Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - Where to eat - Map - Virtual Tour

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

 

LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted

Oregon Coast Lodging
Rentals
Specials

Dining

Events Calendar

Oregon Coast Weather

Travel News

Search for Oregon Coast Subjects, Articles

Virtual Tours, Maps
Deep Details