Big waves rolling in for weekend

Greg Risling

NEWPORT BEACH -- It may be November, but it isn’t stopping Mother Nature

from providing surfers with well-formed waves.

For the second day this week, surfers were given an autumn gift in the

form of 4- to 6-foot waves. The south-to-southwest swells are expected to

last through Saturday at most Southern California beaches.

The big, slow rolling waves with long shoulders were evident at several

locations off the Newport Beach coast.

“Those are the types of waves you can put six to seven people on,” said

Lt. Jim Turner of the Newport Beach Fire and Marine Department. “What we

had today, we usually don’t see in Newport, especially at this time of

year.”

The water temperature was a mild 62 degrees on Thursday.

That didn’t stop Matt Andrews from heading to West Newport. Andrews, a

Huntington Beach resident, took the afternoon off work to partake in the

good surfing conditions.

“You have to do what you can when there are excellent waves,” he said.

“It’s a nice day with good waves. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Other parts of the Southland also experienced high surf. Beach

communities in central California reported 8- to 10-foot swells with some

reaching as high as 14 feet.

Surfers can expect the waves to slowly decrease Friday, tailing off

during the weekend. The conditions are due to a low-pressure system that

has moved south from the Gulf of Alaska.