BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

-- Deepa Bharath

The ocean might have a little Christmas present of its own for Newport

Beach surfers today.

A large swell of up to 8 feet is expected today, said forecaster Stan

Wasowski of the National Weather Service in San Diego.

“It’s not going to be anything huge,” he said. “When you talk about a

huge swell, you’re talking about 16 to 20 feet.”

Wasowski said those giant waves can be expected sometime in January,

when southern storms push the water northward. Today’s swell stems from

storms in the northwest, he said.

Bigger swells are more common in the winter than in the summer,

Wasowski said.

“These type of waves especially are pretty common for this time of the

year,” he said.