Sneaker wave warning in Bay Area after fisherman swept away at SF beach

As temperatures climb into the mid-80s, the National Weather Service is warning Bay Area residents to be cautious when heading out to the beach. 

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On Sunday morning, meteorologists issued a beach hazards statement for dangerous conditions along the coastline, including sneaker waves and strong rip currents due to a long period southwesterly swell approaching the Pacific coast. The statement remains in effect through Tuesday morning.

Dial Hoang, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office, wrote the 2-foot-high swell posed a risk of “potentially deadly waves which surge much further up the beach than expected and sweep unaware beachgoers into the ocean.”

In Sunday’s area forecast discussion, he also warned of “strong rip currents that can sweep the strongest swimmers away from shore.” The weather service is urging inexperienced swimmers to steer clear of the water this weekend. People who do visit the beach are encouraged to swim near a lifeguard, if possible, and observe the waves for 20 minutes before venturing in.

“Never turn your back to the ocean,” Hoang said. If you get caught in a rip current, try to relax, stay calm and float to conserve energy. Do not swim against the current. Instead, “swim parallel to the coast away from the current, and then at an angle to shore,” Hoang said. Call or wave for help if you are unable to reach shore.

The warning comes after a fisherman was swept into the ocean at San Francisco’s Baker Beach on Friday afternoon. People who saw the man and called 911 reported a sneaker wave “struck without warning,” sending him into the water, San Francisco Fire Department spokesperson Jonathan Baxter said on social media. Firefighters arrived at the scene around 1 p.m., joined by an SFPD police boat and drone units and an allied agency helicopter.

“Three rescue swimmers from SFFD Engine and Truck 14 reached the victim within minutes of dispatch, conducted an open water rescue, and brought the fisherman to shore,” Baxter wrote. After paramedics “continued advanced life support measures,” the man was transported to a nearby hospital, where he is in critical condition.

Baxter wrote that sneaker waves can “appear without warning, even on calm days, and have the power to knock people off their feet.” He encouraged beachgoers to keep kids and pets close and avoid walking on wet sand and rocks.

“If someone is swept in, don’t go in after them,” he wrote. “Call 911 immediately and throw something that floats.”