Joseph Street, Claire Wilkens, Jeremy Smith, Angela Abshier, and Lesley Ewing, 2023. “California coastal access damage from early winter 2022-2023 storms: A photo essay”, Shore & Beach, 91(1), 64-70.
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https://doi.org/10.34237/1009116
California coastal access damage from early winter 2022-2023 storms: A photo essay
Joseph Street (1), Claire Wilkens (1), Jeremy Smith (1), Angela Abshier (2) and Lesley Ewing (3)
1) California Coastal Commission, 455 Market Street, SF, CA 94105, USA
2) Sail to Shelter, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
3) 1679 Tacoma Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94707
Atmospheric rivers, “bomb cyclones,” storm waves and high tides wreaked havoc along the central California coast from San Francisco to Monterey. From 26 December 2022 to 11 January 2023, more than 10 inches of rain fell in central California (Landers 2023). During this same time period, higher high tides were 6-ft or greater for 10 of these days and 35-ft high waves were noted. Beaches, beach accesses, and coastal trails were on the front lines for storm defenses and damage. In addition to the extensive new coverage, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Geodetic Survey (NOAA/NGS) collected continuous post-storm(s) airborne photography along the west coast that will be invaluable in analyzing future long-term shoreline changes (NOAA/NGS 2023). The following photos, taken soon after the storms, show some of the coastal damage near and in Monterey Bay.