PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A series of powerful waves caught beachgoers off guard near Lincoln City on Nov. 20, sweeping at least one person off their feet, and nearly dragging them into the frigid ocean.
Washington resident Zachary Heistand told KOIN 6 News that he was visiting the Oregon Coast when he captured the frightening video from his hotel room in Nelscott Beach at approximately 9:30 a.m. Both incidents were taken about 20 minutes apart, he said, and all the beachgoers and their dogs made it safely back to dry land.
“I could see the waves stacking up and knew there was no way they were going to make it,” Heistand said. “It was way too noisy to warn them and the waves were moving really fast. There had already been multiple large waves taking out the whole beach in the past 10 to 20 minutes, but people were going out anyway.”
Thursday’s calm before Portland’s next fall storm
The forceful waves occurred in the wake of a bomb cyclone that created especially hazardous ocean conditions across the Pacific Northwest on Nov. 19. National Weather Service spokesperson David Bishop told KOIN that it’s unclear if the waves seen in the videos were sneaker waves.
“It’s rather hard to say if it was a sneaker wave or just a high tide wave from just these videos, and that is the whole reason why sneaker waves are very treacherous,” Bishop said. “You can’t really tell how far up the beach a wave will go sometimes. … It should be noted that sneaker waves are defined as waves that push up further onto land than the normal waves at any given time.”
Tornado warning issued for Washington Coast as waterspout nears land
The National Weather Service warns that Pacific Northwest beaches present many dangers, including sneaker waves, beach debris, extreme tides and freezing water temperatures. Beachgoers are advised to remain alert at all times.
“In the Northwest, water temperatures are frigid, and victims caught in sneakers can lose control of their limbs in a matter of seconds,” the NWS website states. “The volume of sand, water, and gravel they carry and will deposit in an individuals’ clothes. Survivors have described the water-sand mix in their clothes as feeling as heavy as concrete, rendering them incapable of escaping the receding waves pulling them into the ocean. Stay off and well clear of large logs and debris fields that are anywhere near the surf line or below the high-water marks. Sneaker waves can run up on the beach, lifting or rolling these extremely heavy water-soaked logs on the beach. People have been injured and even crushed by being caught under these logs from sneaker wave action on the beach.”
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
