Surf’s up -- but so are the tides

-- Greg Risling

There is some good news and some bad news regarding surf conditions

this week.

Which one do you want to know about first?

The good news -- primarily for surfers -- is that waves could reach

between eight to 10 feet this weekend due to a storm that ravaged the

South Pacific two weeks ago. The bad news is that overflows during high

tides in low-lying areas such as Newport Beach are also forecasted.

The surf is expected to increase beginning today and will probably

peak Saturday. The surging swells are due to a combination of storms that

affected New Zealand and Alaska. The effect from the two storms

reportedly are going to converge off of the California coast this

weekend, making for good to excellent surf conditions.

The best surf will probably be at south- to southwest-facing beaches

such as Newport Beach.

However, metrologists are cautioning people who live near the beach

about tidal overflows. The overflow would be caused by the large surf

during high tides. Also, lifeguards warn, beach-goers should be careful

of strong rip currents over the weekend.