(KRON) – A woman was knocked off her feet by a towering wave south of the Pacifica Municipal Pier Thursday, as 14- to 25-foot tides pounded the Bay Area coast, a video sent by a KRON4 viewer showed.
The National Weather Service warned the public to stay away from piers, jetties and waterfront infrastructure between Thursday and Saturday morning amid dangerous beach conditions.
There was also an increased risk of sneaker waves this week. The NWS website describes sneaker waves as “potentially deadly waves that rise higher on the beach than expected, and pass unsuspectingly.”
It is unclear whether the wave that hit the woman was a sneaker wave. Sport waves can happen at any time, and nuclear weapon states strongly advise that people never turn their backs on the ocean.
“The volume of sand, water and gravel you carry will get deposited on people’s clothing,” the National Weather Service warns. “Survivors described the mixture of water and sand in their clothing as heavy as concrete, leaving them unable to escape the receding waves pulling them into the ocean. Stay well away from large logs and debris fields anywhere near the surf line or below high water marks. Waves can surge on the beach, lifting or rolling very heavy water-soaked logs onto the beach. People have been injured and even crushed by falling under these logs from the sporting wave action. On the beach.”