S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show. Turbulence at sea as Hurricane Genevieve sends powerful waves to our shore. We'll talk about the potential for flooding and your safety at the beach. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. So Hurricane Genevieve is sending those powerful ocean swells to San Diego. The category four storm is hundreds of miles southwest of Baja California. But it's making waves all up the way , all up the shore. And it could mean dangerous conditions at local beaches. Joining me to break down the forecast is Alex Tardy. He's a meteorologist and climate expert with Weather Echo. Welcome back to Midday Edition , Alex.
S2: Hey , thanks for having me on again.
S1: Glad to have you here. So Hurricane Genevieve was the first category five storm of the year , but now it's weakened to a category four. What? What does that mean? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. When it formed off the Baja tip , it strengthened to a category five , which is the highest level , the strongest possibility of any hurricane or tropical cyclone. That's wins over 150mph. So since hurricanes are a wind machine , they stir up the ocean kind of like a wash machine , and they generate a swell. And that throws the energy towards all directions. And what we feel is from the south here in Southern California.
S1: So how is El Nino influencing the strength of Hurricane Genevieve? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. El Nino is well developed already. Here we are in late July. It's already in a moderate strength. It's clearly visible on satellite , meaning the water is really warm. So whenever you add warm water along the equator , where most hurricanes form. That brings energy to those hurricanes. It allows them to develop faster , often , and even stronger.
S1: Well , with the high temps here in San Diego , a lot of people are flocking to local beaches , but this storm is expected to cause dangerous surf. What should we expect?
S2: Yeah , it's already throwing the surf to our beaches from the south , so we call that a south swell. So it's coming from a different direction than we normally see from the west northwest. So it affects different beaches , like up in Oceanside and Trestles. It affects beaches that are exposed or facing the south. So what we're looking at is 5 to 7ft of surf , maybe even 8 or 9ft in some of the favored beaches.
S1: You know , the ocean beach swell seems to be especially popular for surfers. So what? What makes it unique?
S2: It's unique because it's coming from the south. Normally we're seeing most of the year Pacific storms throwing in waves from the west northwest. And we get really good surf in California from the west northwest because that's where most storms track. But when we get into the warm season , like now , the tropical season , we can get storms even from the southern hemisphere. But like in this case , Genevieve , we can get a storm from a tropical cyclone.
S1: How often do we get hurricanes in this these ocean waters here?
S2: Yeah , the Pacific is typically really active in June , July , August and sometimes all the way into the fall. So I would say , you know , normally we'll see one a month and busy times we might see two a month , but not necessarily as strong as a category five like we just saw with Genevieve. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Um , where is Hurricane Genevieve headed to next. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. It's going to be following the easterly winds down in the tropics. And so what that means it's going to be pushed to our west and miss us and push north of Hawaii. Now , the other thing that's going on is there's this big dome of hot air that's building westward as well. So imagine big dome of hot air in New Mexico , building towards Arizona , Southern California. That's going to give us our hot temperatures. And that's actually shielding us , shielding us from any of that moisture to come up from Genevieve. So it's not going to be able to make it up here at all. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Well , you know , what role is climate change playing and really propelling storms like these? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. The thing we see with climate change globally , not just California , is warmer land and warmer ocean. So even without El Nino , we've got some large areas , what we call marine heat waves in the Pacific Ocean. And even without El Nino , we've got warm water along the California coast. Warmer than it should be. So overall , the ocean absorbs a lot of the heat that we experience over the land , with heat waves and hot summers and hot years overall. But now that the oceans warming as well. That could be why we're seeing potentially the strongest El Nino on record coming up. Mm.
S1: Mm. You know , there's also Hurricane Fausto , which is a bit further out to the west. What do we know about that storm? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. Fortunately , that storm is moving to the West as well. And that's the normal trajectory of storms going from the east to west. There's rare cases like we saw with Hillary , where they can get caught up in the flow from the Pacific and actually make it up into California. But those are very rare exceptions. So most of the time it's what we call a hurricane affecting the fish. Now , we do have islands , you know , Guam , we've got Hawaii. And so once in a while we've got to keep an eye on those islands because they can be in direct path as well.
S1: Uh , I mean , as these storms kind of , you know , move around. Um , and as we look ahead to the weekend , should we prepare for high heat through the rest of the week?
S2: Yeah , unfortunately , that's the story. Wouldn't it be nice to get some rain? Uh , from anything the monsoon or from a tropical cyclone? But we're not going to get that , uh , this heat wave coming up looks to be the strongest we've seen or experienced all summer. So it means business. And it means business for Phoenix , Vegas , Riverside interior , San Diego , uh , Northern California , the whole entire southwest. We could be seeing record high temperatures. So we're talking maybe 115 in our deserts , perhaps even 120 hitting 120 in Palm Springs. So in San Diego , with the ocean allowing us to have some cooling , we're talking about mid 80s , but you're just going to go a couple miles inland and you'll be in the 90s. So the hottest day looks to be Friday Saturday and maybe lasting into Sunday , but it doesn't really go away next week. It kind of lingers around. So be prepared for very hot temperatures this coming heatwave. Well.
S1: Well. All right , well , I've been speaking with Alex Tardy , meteorologist and climate expert with rather weather echo. Alex , thank you so much.
S2: Thanks for having me on.
S1: Well , now let's talk more about what we're seeing at San Diego beaches. Joining me in studio is James Gartland. He's lifeguard chief for the San Diego for the city of San Diego's fire rescue department. James , welcome to midday Edition.
S3: Thanks for having me. Good afternoon.
S1: Good afternoon. Glad to have you on here. So listen , record temperatures in some areas. Um , but finding relief at the beach may or may not be the safest thing to do. It sounds like. What are you. What are you all seeing out there?
S3: Where the San Diego lifeguards are extremely busy. All the lifeguards in San Diego County and Southern California are busy. Busy? We have these south swells coming in , which are in turn making very powerful rip currents. And these record heats are bringing record people to the beach. Last weekend we we made 464 rescues on Saturday and Sunday. So it's and that's that's high. Not totally out of the normal for the summer but that's a busy weekend that that has every lifeguard on on point and and getting after it out at the beaches. Make sure we stay safe. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. What beaches are the most dangerous right now?
S3: Well , we're seeing the most powerful swells at our south facing beaches. So sunset cliffs a little bit down at the tip. Uh , wind and sea. Blacks beach. And that's where we're seeing. And wind and sea. For example , they made 107 rescues on Saturday last week. So they are they are getting those rip currents are just wide open and they're getting monster crowds because of this record heat that we're feeling. The water temp is also 76 degrees right now. So it's very inviting and it's very pleasant to go cool off.
S1: You know , and I was a little curious about the water. That sounds lovely , by the way. Um , but but I've also seen , you know , some people are complaining about the water itself. It's got a tinge to it now of some saying green water or brown water. Are you all seeing that out there as the turbulence kind of stirring things up in the , in the ocean?
S3: Well , the the turbulence is out there. The warm water tends to , to bring different bacterias and different blooms and things. But the county does all of the testing. And if you go on to the county website , they'll tell you all the safe places to swim and what the bacteria levels are. So it may look a little bit different , but the county will let you know whether it's clean or not.
S1: All right. Um , how do these swells compare to past summers?
S3: Well , we're just seeing a little bit more south swell. We had about 16 days straight of south swells. Um , when these hurricanes come up , like. Like Mr. Tardy said. We see one hurricane a month , sometimes two. When they come up , they definitely generate the south swells. This is our south swell time. But we have seen more prolonged swells , you know , smaller swells coming , coming. And now we're getting probably our biggest swell of the summer. And lifeguards are going to be challenged.
S1: Well , are you are you worried about conditions getting more dangerous? Um , as we're , you know , we're expecting more heavy surf from Hurricane Genevieve , as we just heard.
S3: Well , the weather is getting more extreme. We are seeing that certainly here in San Diego. But the San Diego lifeguards are prepared. We we train for this. This is what every lifeguard lives for. They they want to come out to the beach and they want to challenge themselves. And they want to work hard and make sure that the beaches are safe. And and that happens during a south swell.
S1: And you mentioned hundreds of rescues or rescues rather over the weekend. I imagine that's a lot of demand on lifeguards. I know this is something that you all live for. Any concerns about staffing or burnout right now.
S3: You know , we we have a really good system here at the city. I can't speak for all of the other agencies , but we have relief built in. So our schedule is built to provide that relief. And with all the school changes and the different , the majority of our workforce is college kids. So a lot of the college calendars have changed. So we had the UC kids came a little later this summer , but they're staying later. And then the San Diego State kids came a little earlier , but they're leaving a little earlier as well. So as far as burnout goes and workload , um , everybody's out there. They're they're feeling good , they're healthy , and we've got a great program. And then if somebody does break down physically , emotionally , all that support is there to help those folks.
S1: That's great to hear. With all of this in mind. How do you advise swimmers and surfers to stay safe and alert while enjoying the water?
S3: Well , the number one thing is swim at a beach that's protected by a a lifeguard. And then when you come to the beach , check in. The lifeguards are out there. We're out there on the sand. We. We get more and more lifeguards are closer together as the crowds come to the beach. And then as people leave , they , you know , we have lifeguards are a little bit further away , but we kind of ebb and flow with the crowd. So there should always be a lifeguard around and you can ask them , hey , where's a good place to go swimming? And they're going to tell you exactly , because we spend our day , our best rescue that we make is the one that never happens. It's the person that we move before they get into the rip current and we move them to a sandbar. We move them somewhere that's a little bit safer to swim or the water's not pulling as much. We spend the day doing preventative acts , so we're doing public addresses , or you'll see the lifeguard running out with the board and the can and the fins and and they're just moving people around and moving out of hazardous areas. So that's that's a lot of work. We do almost a half million preventative acts a year here in the city of San Diego.
S1: That's great. I mean , because those , those currents come fast. And I know I've been at the beach before and just , you know , you once you feel that sand move out from up underneath your feet and you're down. I mean , that it's a scary thing , but I mean , what what do you what do people do? What should you exactly do if you are caught in a rip current and and what is a rip current for those who don't know. Okay.
S3: Okay. Well , there's , there's there's different types of rip currents , some along jetties and piers , there's more static rip currents that are kind of always there. And what happens is those waves come in , that water energy comes in and it needs to get back out to that mean high tide level. So to get back out , sometimes it creates a little trench in the sand. And so an area that appears to be very safe is actually where it's flat. The waves aren't breaking. There might be a wave breaking to the left , a wave breaking to the right , and it looks kind of nice here in the middle. There's there's no waves here that is secretly a trough or an under , you know , a river that has built a little trench in the sand and it is pulling you directly west. So that's what the rip current is there. And those rip currents are moving up and down with the wave action. And that's what lifeguards do. That's why we're constantly out there running , making public addresses and moving people around. But when you get into a rip current , the the most important thing is don't panic , right? Fill your chest up with air , start to float , try to get. And this is why you should be at a beach that's protected by a lifeguard. Try to get somebody's attention. If you have the breath , yell for help. Wave your arms , but roll over on your back , right? Swim parallel to shore and try to get somebody's attention. But if you swim , swim parallel to shore , you'll get to that wave area. And that wave area is what's going to push you back in onto the sandbar and get you back to the beach.
S1: No matter if you're going left or right.
S3: It doesn't matter if you're going left or right. Yeah. And you'll you'll feel it pulling you , but it's just pulling you west and outside the surf line and a lifeguard. We'll see you and we'll come and get you. We have rescue boards , we have surf boats , we have rescue watercraft. So we have all the tools that we need to keep the beaches safe. And we're constantly out there watching , certainly at the San Diego City beaches.
S1: If you see someone else in danger in the water , is there is there a best practice for helping them.
S3: Signal to the lifeguard , get the lifeguards attention and get them going , especially if you don't have strong water skills. But if you have a flotation device , if you're on your rescue board , certainly out surfers make rescues all the time here in San Diego. Um , paddle over there , get that person on your board and signal for a lifeguard. Lifeguard is going to come out and they're going to get that person to shore.
S1: All right , well , bottom line this for me , it's going to be a hot couple of days ahead. How should people stay safe at the beach in this high heat?
S3: Well , come with patience. Bottom line , parking is going to be at a premium and challenging. Um , plenty of water , plenty of sunscreen. But swim at a beach with a lifeguard. swim in a designated swimming area. And when you get to that beach asset. Lifeguard where is a good , safe , good , safe place to swim? And where should you go?
S1: All right. I've been speaking with James Gartland , the lifeguard chief for the City of San Diego's fire rescue department. James , thank you so very much.
S3: Thank you. Have a.
S1: Great day. You do? Yeah. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
