Tropical Storm Marie Stirs Up Santa Barbara Coastline but Homes Spared from Damage

It was a summer slam in Santa Barbara from what was once Hurricane Marie. Now it has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm, but the force coming in from the Pacific Ocean has roughed up some of our coastline.

At the same time it has created some challenging waves for surfers in Santa Barbara and Montecito, without being the massive monsters that have been seen in areas farther to the south that are getting a more direct impact.

Checking out the blasting surf and carved up beach in Santa Barbara, Mark Soler said, “you expect this from winter storms. I don’t know how close hurricanes normally get but this is really amazing. Weather is going nuts.”

For many people on the coast, the surf was not threatening, just aggressive. It was however, something they had not seen during the summer season including the impacts to boats and the shoreline.

“No I have never actually seen a boat wash ashore in August on East Beach in decades of being here every week,” said resident and beach jogger Peter Hunt.

Hyatt hotel worker Sarah Branstetter said, “we have big storms probably in November or December, but never in the summer.” She sent her guests over to make sure they saw the wave action while they were visiting Santa Barbara, since it was such an unusual event.

At the Santa Barbara breakwater there was a powerful backhanded blast from the ocean surge. The reinforced wall held up, protecting the harbor with over 1000 boats inside.

Nearby, Stearns Wharf was creaking but overall it held up with the help of recent piling improvements and there were no problems.

Waves crashed against the Butterfly Beach walkway and wall in Montecito.

During the King Tides in December and January the massive waves here made it up to Channel Drive.

This time, they fell short.
Nearby at the Miramar Beach where homes are steps away from the waterfront.

The high tides and heavy surf came close, but all the walkways, railings, windows and doors hung on.