Hurricane Marie creates dangerous surf

Rip currents strong enough to knock people off their feet will flow along the entire San Diego County coastline Thursday as energy from Hurricane Marie sweeps ashore in Southern California, says the National Weather Service and Surfline.com.

The weather service has issued a beach hazards advisory that will be in place through 1 a.m. on Friday. The advisory warns swimmers about rip currents and often overlooked strong longshore currents, which can place a lot of stress on swimmers and surfers. A surfer died in big waves at Malibu on Tuesday. (Story).

"Most of the hurricane's energy will miss San Diego County and go into southern and northern Orange County," said Kevin Wallis, a Surfline forecaster. "But extreme North San Diego County -- places like Oceanside -- will get 6' to 8' waves, with some larger sets, on Wednesday, and there will be strong currents every where." Other parts of the county will mostly get 3' to 5' surf.

Hurricane Marie on Tuesday afternoon. NHC

(NHC)

Wallis said the waves will peak in the 8' to 10' range in parts of southern Orange County, and that they could hit 15' or higher in northern Orange County, from Huntington Beach to Seal Beach.

Beachcombers and swimmers should beware of the currents, especially during high tide. There will be a 4' 8'' high tide at 10:53 a.m. Wednesday and a 4' 9'' high at 11:20 a.m. on Thursday.

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