Redondo Beach sees huge waves as rain, high surf cause flooding in coastal communities
The Southland coast was among the many regions battered by rain when both an atmospheric river and bomb cyclone hit California overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
As the storm moves out of the area, flooding concerns remain high however with high surf expected come Friday.
At 11 p.m. Thursday evening, huge waves could be seen crashing on the shore in Redondo Beach, causing considerable flooding on the beach as it surpassed the seawalls.
The unique combination of a full moon and the lingering effects of the atmospheric river, bomb cyclone combination caused weather officials to issue a high tide warning for Southern California coasts.
They estimate that the King Tides could cause massive waves anywhere between 12 and 14 feet. As a result, the Redondo Beach Pier is closed until Sunday for public safety. The Yacht Club in the area was also closed until Sunday.
Police closed several roads close to the beach due to flooding, which are expected to remain shut down until they can assess the situation in the morning.
The high tide warning lasted until 6 p.m. on Friday.
Some roadways across the Southland became overrun Friday with water and debris, forcing some street and freeway lane closures. But the system dropped far less rain than originally expected as it quickly moved through the area.
Friday morning around 9:20 a.m., Southbound Pacific Coast Highway was closed between Warner Avenue and Seapoint Street in Huntington Beach due to flooding, according to the city.
Later in the day, the waves seemed to have mellowed down some, with spectators able to walk along the shore and witness the waves a little closer than the night prior.
Some light flooding occurred in beach parking lots, though precautions taken by residents seemed to have curbed major impact thus far.
City officials implemented their annual sand berm on the beach in hopes of protecting homes and businesses along the shore.
Lifeguards, volunteers and city workers were busy overnight filling sandbags and building additional berms in problem areas, taking the extra precautions after considerable flooding in September of last year, when a rare hurricane, Hurricane Kay, hit the coast.
Even with the preparations, some water began to seep into the Beach House restaurant.
"My partners and I, we thought, 'What are we gonna do?'" said Rosie Ritchie, one of the owning partners of the eatery. "We know the berms are there, but they didn't really do a good job last time."
Their patio was still under construction during September's hurricane, pushing back their grand opening by two months.
"The journey has been long," Ritchie said. "We were so excited to open and we did."
The threat of additional flooding has her and many others on edge in Seal Beach and surrounding areas, with King Tides expected heading into the weekend.
