High Surf Advisory

I've witnessed High Surf Advisories before, but nothing like this morning's. Waves at least 20 feet tall were rolling in on Cannery Row, shaking some of the buildings I was standing on and slamming into rocks and other buildings - a very awesome display of nature, arriving in the wake of one of the strongest winter storms to hit this area in a bunch of years. Thankfully I got lucky and had power when I got home on Friday night (though it had been out for a couple of periods during the day apparently).

Below, a wave crashes on to the rocks next to the El Torito restaurant (left) and continues in land to pound the Spindrift Inn (right).


Here, a wave smashes into the Aeneas Cannery building and splashes into the air to the height of the building, which is at least five stories tall.


The noise of the waves was impressive too, like a rolling thunder. There were lots of seagulls flying around and diving into the surf grabbing food that had been pounded by the surf and rose to the surface. I couldn't tell exactly what they were eating, but it looked like they might be starfish who had been ripped from their moorings by the powerful waves.