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Warning For Monster 'Sneaker Waves' At Bay Area Beaches As Super Typhoon Nuri's Effects Linger

OCEAN BEACH (CBS SF) -- Powerful "sneaker waves" and concurrent rip tides will create extremely dangerous conditions at Bay Area beaches Wednesday and Thursday as the remnants of Super Typhoon Nuri send powerful swells toward the California Coast, prompting the National Weather Service to declare a Beach Hazard Warning.

The same extreme conditions pushing the Polar Vortex clear down the Gulf Coast, and giving Alaska the storm of the century, with 40 and 50-foot seas will send waves thousands of miles toward the coast.

Ocean Beach and the Point Reyes National Seashore are especially vulnerable, as is Monterey Bay, and other north and northwest-facing beaches with exposure toward the Bering Sea.

Sneaker waves are waves double or more the normal wave height that rips beachgoers off jetties, rocks, or even the shoreline.

"For Northern California and the Northwest, sneaker waves kill more people than all other weather hazards – combined," said Troy Nicolini, the NOAA researcher in charge of forecasting conditions that trigger the deadly waves.

People near the beach are reminded to never turn their backs to the sea.

Fisherman should say off rocks and jetties where they are especially at risk.

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