La Jolla

WATCH: Surfers off La Jolla's Torrey Pines Beach caught riding giants

The king tides' crowning glory might be the giant waves rolling into San Diego this week

NBC Universal, Inc.

The few, the proud, the insane?

On Thursday, with some weather models predicting that west-facing beaches could see sets up to 18 feet high, more than a few surfers braved the conditions.

Sky Ranger 7 flew over Torrey Pines State Beach shortly before 5 p.m. and caught one surfer mastering a monster — a 15-footer maybe — and spotted another catching a nice ride before dumping back over the wave, having dived what looked like 10 feet after being flipped up into the air. Dozens of people watched from a safe distance atop the cliffs above the beach.

On Friday, the focus of December's king tide was mostly on the coastal flooding, with the waves easily reaching Mission Bay's seawall and other associeate damage — by the afternoon Pacific Beach's Crystal Pier had joined the OB Pier in the closed category.

The waves were expected. Photographer Jim Grant, whose been known to prowl OB for shots of big waves, caught a giant spray after a roller slammed into Sunset Cliffs on Wednesday.

Photographer Jim Grant captured big waves at Sunset Cliffs on Dec. 27, 2023.
Jim Grant
Photographer Jim Grant captured big waves at Sunset Cliffs on Dec. 27, 2023.

They'll likely be riding the monsters again on Saturday, though, when the waves are supposed to top out in the triple-overhead neighborhood once more. For those keeping track, high tide, when coastal flooding is most likely to occur, is at around 10:15 a.m., but wave heights should be peaking closer to 3 p.m. Keeping them company will be scattered showers throughout the day.

A surf warning and a coastal flood advisory are both in effect throughout the weekend. The waves will still near double-digit heights on Sunday, according to NBC 7's Sheen Parveen.

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