An enormous pair of cyclones covering the entirety of the Northern Pacific are sending 40-foot waves toward the Central Coast, but after the 400 miles of travel, the waves calm to mere 20-footers, as recorded by the buoys in the Santa Barbara Channel today. Surfers at Rincon are reporting double-overhead waves, and tourists at the breakwater in the Santa Barbara Harbor were being washed down the walkway back toward Brophy's.
"The parking lot by the café was completely flooded," said Guidance Moon, who was working at the harbor this morning and sent images she'd taken of the flooded lot.
Harbor Way, the road that leads to the Fish Market and the Yacht Club, is closed through Sunday, said Mike Wiltshire, who heads the harbor for the city. The six-foot-high tide this morning, added to the six-to-10-foot swells, sent the ocean into the West Parking Lot and the business areas. The second cyclone's effects are expected this weekend, and the harbor crews will need the time to clean away the sand and sea wrack, Wiltshire said. He added that the main parking lot remains open but that the breakwater is closed to pedestrians.