The Waves Are Massive in California Right Now

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Dangerous surf conditions along the coast of California prompted the National Weather Service to issue a pretty unique high surf warning for today:

https://twitter.com/NWSBayArea/status/1074051054172585987

The largest waves are breaking along the Central California coast, stretching north to the San Francisco Bay Area. The NWS reported waves of 30 to 40 feet:

https://twitter.com/NWSBayArea/status/1074706901902999552

While Southern Californians won’t get the same huge waves as parts of the north, the swell’s effects will be visible. On Monday and Tuesday, surfers in Southern California should expect waves as high as eight to 12 feet and six to 10 feet in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, respectively, according to the NWS.

https://twitter.com/NWSPortland/status/1074550876575031296

These swells were brought on by a huge low-pressure that originated in the Gulf of Alaska, according to The Weather Channel, and that system is hurling surf at the California coast.

Mavericks, the iconic big wave spot, has had 40-foot sets rolling through all morning. But the World Surf League decided not to hold the Mavericks Challenge, the third stop of the Big Wave World Tour.

“We will not be running the Mavericks Challenge this week and will wait for more optimum conditions,” says tour commissioner Mike Parsons. “The wind is good and conditions will be clean, but the swell will be dropping through the day on Thursday and we won’t have the consistency we need to run an excellent event. With three months left in the waiting period, we are confident that we’ll have better opportunities to run this event this season. January is typically the best month for Mavericks so we’ll be watching things closely and hoping for a great finish to the season.”

The last Mavericks Challenge was held on February 2016. The next contest will include 24 men and 10 women surfers—a recent change that ended a nearly two-decades-long fight for women to be included in the lineup.