Powerful, hurricane-charged waves may hit Southern California again this weekend, threatening further damage to beachfront homes and the public boardwalk on the Long Beach Peninsula, where crews haven’t had time to rebuild from the last major storm swell.
Hurricane Polo in the southern Pacific could produce tides of up to 7 feet in Long Beach, with waves between 4 and 6 feet, according to forecasters at the National Weather Service. The strongest conditions are expected around 9 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday before tapering off that evening.
Forecasters caution they won’t have a firm idea of the storm’s path until Thursday, but in a “worst-case scenario,” the swell could be similar to the one caused by Hurricane Marie, said Devin Black with the NWS. That storm sent waves crashing into the Peninsula, flooding streets, shattering portions of a wooden boardwalk and forcing evacuations at 19 coastline homes.
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Whether Polo reaches that severity depends on how it travels. Black explained that weak steering currents in the atmosphere have some forecasting models showing the storm curving toward Mexico, while others show it tracking farther west — a scenario that would leave Southern California more exposed to swells…