Weather news

35.8-foot swell off Oregon Friday night; round two hits Sunday afternoon

By Ryan Hall, Y'all Weather Desk · Published November 14, 2026, 6:47 PM ET

Written by our automated news desk from National Weather Service data.

A huge West Coast swell reached 35.8 feet at a buoy off Port Orford, Oregon, at 10:20 PM PST Friday, Nov. 13, and it was still breaking hard at Capitola, California, at high tide Saturday afternoon. A second round is forecast to bring 25 to 30 foot breakers to the Oregon coast from Sunday afternoon, Nov. 15, into Monday morning. If you live on or plan to visit the coast from Oregon to Southern California, give the water a lot of room through Monday.

Capitola at high tide Saturday

The Capitola Wharf camera looks south. Between 12:23 and 12:23:40 PM PST Saturday, it caught three sets of waves rolling in toward the camera. High tide at nearby Monterey came at 12:17 PM, at 4.86 feet. The camera captured the swell just after the nearby high tide. (Video courtesy of CeNCOOS / City of Capitola.)

What the buoys measured

The Port Orford buoy measured a 35.8-foot significant wave height. Farther south, the Crescent City buoy read 33.8 feet at 2:20 AM PST Saturday. Those readings were recorded overnight at two points along the coast.

Those two readings are measurements, not forecasts.

Warnings up along the coast

A High Surf Warning for the Pacific Coast calls for breaking waves of 25 to 35 feet, with occasional sets of 40 to 50 feet at favored breakpoints. It runs until 4 AM PST Sunday. A Coastal Flood Advisory for the same beaches runs through 6 PM PST Saturday.

Farther south, the beaches of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties are under a High Surf Warning for breaking waves of 18 to 25 feet. They also have a Coastal Flood Warning, with moderate to significant flooding expected. The surf is highest on west-northwest facing beaches.

In Southern California, Ventura County beaches are looking at 8 to 14 foot waves peaking Saturday, locally near 15 feet around Ventura Harbor. Los Angeles County beaches and the Malibu Coast have 8 to 12 feet Saturday, easing to 5 to 9 feet Sunday through Tuesday. Coastal flood advisories there run through 4 PM PST Saturday.

On the Oregon coast, a High Wind Warning covers the Curry County coast and the south-central Oregon coast, including exposed stretches of Highway 101. South winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph are expected until 1 AM PST Sunday. You can follow active alerts on our warnings page.

Round two Sunday and Monday

Another round of 25 to 30 foot breakers is forecast along the Oregon coast from Sunday afternoon into Monday morning. Those heights are a forecast, so check conditions before you go anywhere near the water.

What to do

• Stay off jetties, rocks, piers and wharves. Waves can reach farther than they look from dry sand.
• Don't turn your back on the ocean, and keep kids and dogs well back from the wet sand.
• Skip swimming and surfing unless you are an experienced local who has checked the surf warning for your beach.
• Don't park or walk in low-lying spots next to the beach, especially near high tide.
• On the Oregon coast, expect wind on exposed parts of Highway 101 Saturday night.
• Want a heads-up when warnings go out? Sign up for free Y'all Alerts.

Bottom line

The 35.8-foot and 33.8-foot buoy readings came Friday night into early Saturday, but surf warnings stay up on much of the West Coast into Sunday, and round two arrives Sunday afternoon with 25 to 30 foot breakers on the Oregon coast. Treat the beach as off limits until the warnings are lifted.

Explained: Flood Advisory, Watch, Warning and Flash Flood Warning explained

More on Pacific Northwest flooding, November 2026

Places in this story: Port Orford, OR; Capitola, CA; Crescent City, CA

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