S. Coast Beach Hazards Start Off Week of Sun, Calm Conditions Oregon / Washington Beaches

Published 01/05/25 at 1:25 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Port Orford, Oregon) – Oregon's beaches (and much of the rest of the state) will get a much-needed reprieve from a whole lotta rain – a deluge that caused a slide near Coos Bay this week that has closed the road to Shore Acres State Park. While this starts Monday for most areas, the south coast gets another dose of beach hazards that day. (Above: Warrenton - Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

Look for fairly calm conditions on the Oregon coast as well as Washington coast, along with a decent amount of sun. For about a week everything calms down, allowing better views of whales offshore and some good beachcombing weather. Though chilly, wave height and wind won't be bad so you can check out what recent storms have brought up. Large waves also blocked sight of migrating whales during Whale Watch Week.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the majority of the coast cools its jets starting Tuesday, though Monday will see at least some sun for much of the region from Brookings up to Westport.

However, the NWS issued a special beach hazards statement for Monday evening for the southern Oregon coast, saying there's an increased chance of sneaker waves. Offshore waves are in the teens that night but with excessively long timing periods up to 18 seconds. That's a recipe for sizable sneaker waves once they reach shore.

Holiday Beach near Newport - Oregon Coast Beach Connection

“Sneaker waves can run up significantly farther on beaches than normal, including over rocks and jetties,” the NWS said. “These waves can suddenly knock people off of their feet and quickly pull them into the cold ocean waters, resulting in serious injury or death. Waves may also lift driftwood logs, trapping anyone caught underneath.”

Sneaker wave issues are for Brookings, Gold Beach, Port Orford, Bandon, Coos Bay and Reedsport. That event is short-lived, however, but a somewhat long timing between wave sets continues throughout the week in that area, so some caution should be exercised on the beaches.

See  Oregon Coast Weather (including tides) - Inland Oregon Weather

Farther north, from Florence through at least Raymond (including Newport, Lincoln City, Pacific City, Manzanita, Seaside and Long Beach), waves stay closer to just above 10 feet throughout the week with a smaller period timing.

“High pressure will build over the region for this coming week, with winds mostly E to SE at 5 to 15 kt,” the NWS said in its marine forecast. “Seas generally 6 to 9 ft, though may have few periods of seas 10 to 11 ft on late Mon.”

From Tuesday onward, look for partly sunny skies through at least Saturday and not a lot of rain. No major storm systems are in the cards for northwest Oregon (which includes Portland, Eugene, Woodburn, etc.), but a smaller one will arrive over the weekend.

Cape Blanco - Oregon State Parks

“At this point, the precipitation will arrive some time late Friday into Saturday,” the NWS said. “We will continue to watch it, but in its current state, not seeing anything overly concerning.”

On the southern Oregon coast, sunny conditions seem to be forecast a little longer.

Tuesday through Thursday are looking at mostly sunny in most areas, with Friday clicking down to partly sunny and Saturday moving up to mostly sunny again. Down south there is some amount of fog in the morning, clearing later later in the day.

Sunset Bay State Park this week (Oregon State Parks)

On the north coast and up into Washington, some of those days lean more towards partly sunny.

It all looks to be dry to mostly dry at this point – especially welcome in the Coos Bay area where flooding has been an issue.

There's none of the high winds of late December, however, and no high wave action blocking sight of whales.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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