High Surf on the Way

A sizeable storm in the Pacific just south of Alaska will produce high surf along the Central Coast from late Wednesday to Friday, according to Ryan Kittell, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. As usual, Santa Barbara’s south-facing beaches will be largely shielded from the north to northwest swell by Point Conception, but standout surf spot Rincon should see four- to six-foot rollers on Thursday and Friday. Outside of the Santa Barbara Channel, where the islands mitigate waves approaching shore, said Kittell, west-facing beaches will be on the receiving end of a 17-foot swell. Mick Kronman of the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol said that all of the winter protections are in place, but if waves overtop the harbor’s break wall, it will be closed to pedestrians.