Waves may reach 10 feet

A storm that slammed the Central California coast on Tuesday could spike waves to 10 feet in Newport Beach today, officials said.

Newport Beach lifeguards reported a minor increase in wave size Tuesday afternoon, but according to weather forecasters the swells will peak at 9 a.m. today.

A storm originating between the Hawaiian and Aleutian islands in the Pacific Ocean has been blasting the Pacific Northwest with rain showers and waves up to 20-feet high, Surfline Forecaster Chris Borg said Tuesday.

Orange County likely won’t receive any rain from this storm, but another low pressure system will bring rain starting Thursday night and lasting through the weekend, forecasters said.

The storm should pass by Sunday evening, said forecaster Philip Gonsalves. A couple of 10ths of an inch are expected to fall through Friday, which is as far in advance as the National Weather Services’ precipitation forecast had reported.

Since this storm has generated a western swell, many Newport Beach surf spots that face south, such as the Wedge, won’t see much change.

Most of the action in Newport Beach will be at the Santa Ana River mouth, where waves are expected to reach between 6 to 8 feet. Farther up the coast along the cliffs of Huntington Beach, waves could reach as high as 15 feet, Borg said.

And some warnings to those who go to the beach today: “Any time the waves get big, look out for the current, don’t go out unless you know what you’re doing and don’t stand on jetties,” Borg said.

Tide differences should make things interesting as well, Borg said. A high tide of 5.6 feet at 6 a.m. will mush things up, but as the day goes on a low tide will take effect and waves will pick up.

KELLY STRODL may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].