Quick Take
Rio Del Mar and Capitola Village saw the worst effects of Thursday's high tides and swells reaching 30 feet, which rendered a number of roads closed and damaged some ocean-facing buildings. More rain and another set of large waves are expected to arrive on Friday and early Saturday, respectively.
The Rio Del Mar parking lot that separates Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen Beachside from Seacliff State Beach was littered with chunks of driftwood Thursday morning. People meandered through the area, hopping over puddles and stepping on logs to traverse the unusable lot. They occasionally jogged away from the high tide that continued to flow up the shore and into the lot. The short brick wall in front of the beach had no chance of keeping the torrent of seawater off the pavement.
Coastal areas across Santa Cruz County suffered flooding and damage Thursday after huge waves and high tides pounded the shoreline in a weather event that evoked memories of last winter’s devastating storms.
Capitola Village, the Rio Del Mar neighborhood of Aptos and Pajaro Dunes at the southern edge of the county were all under evacuation warnings for much of the day, though the warnings had been lifted by afternoon. But officials warned that the county is set to see more rain Friday, followed by another “significant coastal wave event” early Saturday morning.
In Capitola Village, the scene bore some resemblance to last year’s atmospheric river deluge. The Esplanade was closed off completely, with water pooling in front of stores and businesses. A number of ocean-facing restaurants, some of which were still recovering from January’s storms, were hammered by waves yet again. They included the Capitola Venetian Hotel, which sustained damage to some of its ocean-facing buildings.
Capitola Police Sgt. Scott Newton said there were no injuries or rescues needed in the village as of midday Thursday. However, two women staying at the Venetian — Mary Basick and her daughter, Abby Ribisi — saw their room beginning to flood in the morning.
“The tidal surge came in early this morning and it just got increasingly higher as the day went on,” said Basick. She said they piled sandbags on the inside of the door to keep water out, but first responders from the Central Fire District eventually safely evacuated them through their window.
The Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf was closed Thursday after several sprinkler loops broke, city officials said. Main and Cowell beaches were both closed over safety concerns, as was Seacliff State Beach in Aptos. West Cliff Drive between Columbia Street and David Way was shut down amid the flooding, with large waves sending ocean debris crashing onto the shore.
That section of West Cliff Drive was heavily damaged in last winter’s storms and was reduced to one-way traffic between Columbia and Woodrow Avenue and closed to traffic between Woodrow and David. The city had been working to restore two-way traffic between Columbia and Woodrow by early 2024.
Earlier this week, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a high surf warning for the Santa Cruz County coastline due to forecasts of high tides pushing waves more than 30 feet farther onshore.
NWS meteorologist Alexis Clouser said the high tides peaked between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Thursday, and the largest waves ranged from 28 to 33 feet. Clouser said that the high tides are a byproduct of this time of year, when the Earth is closest in its orbit to the sun, as well as the fact that there was a full moon Tuesday causing a stronger gravitational pull, resulting in higher tides. She added that strong winds from weather patterns farther out at sea generate large, powerful waves like the ones that crashed into the shore Thursday morning.
“This is the time of year that we do start to see high surf warnings and advisories,” she said. “When those winter storms start to roll in, you have increased winds for a longer period of time over the ocean.”
While the high surf warning expired early Friday morning and was replaced by a high surf advisory through 6 p.m., Clouser said locals should stay wary of possible coastal flooding.
“We are still going to see large waves,” she said, adding that people should expect swells to reach more than 25 feet into the weekend. “Just because the warning ends doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s safe to go in or even near the water for that matter.”
Santa Cruz harbormaster Blake Anderson said he and other harbor personnel were securing boats and surveying dock damage for most of the morning. He said that while some of the docks received minor damage and a few boats came untied, he thinks the harbor fared well.
“Getting the word out to customers over the past couple of weeks helped a lot because people prepared their boats ahead of time,” he said. “It was very similar to what we saw in January.”
Anderson said he saw two people nearly get swept off of the harbor’s west jetty after they had passed three warning signs. He implored people to take the conditions seriously.
“They put themselves in a really dangerous position, and they’re lucky to be alive,” said Anderson.
Rio Del Mar resident Jennifer Welling, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, stood at the edge of the Venus Beachside parking lot watching the ocean rage. Like Anderson, she also said the scene brought back memories of last winter’s storms.
“This is not unlike last winter at all,” she said, adding that it feels that people knew a bit more what to expect this time. “You see people walking around here, though, and last winter no one was down here.”
Welling was lucky enough to live far enough away from the beach that she could access her house without dealing with any road closures or water-filled streets. Larry Coy, though, wasn’t so lucky. His condo, while 50 feet above sea level and dry, was behind a police blockade. He said that although he knows the area is vulnerable to flooding, it’s the first time he’s been here to witness it.
“I heard there was some flooding around Seacliff State Beach, but I don’t think we expected it to happen right here,” he said. “And man, those waves are still seriously huge!”
Despite road flooding and restaurant damage in Capitola Village, Capitola resident Shanon Grannis said that the scene pales in comparison to last winter.
“Take this and quadruple it and you’d get something like last year,” she said, gesturing to the sand, wood and water making its way onto the edge of the beachside Capitola Venetian Hotel. “Windows were broken, Zelda’s was really damaged, and we couldn’t even get on the [Stockton Avenue] bridge.”
Having lived in Capitola Village since only 2019, Grannis said she recalls past instances of high tides that moved some benches by the beach, but that the swells she saw last winter and Thursday morning are a whole different beast.
“Other than that, nothing with this force where you get the swells, high tides, and river runoff,” she said.
More rain and large waves are on the way, so the Santa Cruz County Office of Response, Recovery & Resilience is telling people to prepare now. Residents and visitors remain advised to not go into the water and stay off of beaches, coastal jetties and bluffs.
Capitola police said another high surf event will occur between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Saturday, which could cause more flooding in Capitola Village. The Capitola Police Department will close the village from “Saturday at 1 a.m. until it is deemed safe.”
With harsh conditions like these appearing to be standard winter fare nowadays, Grannis said she is thankful for living up away from the beach.
“Last winter, we were three houses away from being evacuated,” she said. “Ever since that happened when I walk up this hill, I am so glad that I have to walk up this hill.”
— Lookout’s Kevin Painchaud contributed to this report.
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