VIDEO/PHOTOS: Showstopper storm-surge waves at Alki, beyond

On the waterfront from Avenue Collection on Vimeo.

If you didn’t get to Alki today, to join everyone gawking at the waves and spray, here’s a taste of what it was like, courtesy of your neighbors who sent us video and photos to share (in addition to the ones we published in coverage earlier today). First, two video clips so you can see and hear the wild waves – above, a one-minute series of cuts by Mark; below, a longer look from Jeff Miller:

(Video by Jeff Miller)
This seemed at least twice as ferocious as what we had found at the beach on Friday (as shown here) – fueled by a faster, colder north wind.

(WSB photo)
Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza‘s namesake artwork was a popular subject, at times appearing in danger of getting knocked down by the waves dwarfing it. David Hutchinson captured a rainbow in a slightly quieter moment of spray:

SEE A DOZEN-PLUS MORE VIEWS – from surfing to posing – after the jump:

Pam captioned her photo “statue in the storm”:

The westward view, from Mark Daughhetee:

Some made the most of rare conditions. Patrick Binns caught kite surfers “in flight”:

Steve Joseph found someone just plain surfing:

(added) Here’s what the spectator scene looked like – courtesy of Scott Straight:

The waves kicked up driftwood aplenty – Doug B shows us what was on the east side of Alki Bathhouse:

(See more of his views on the WSB Flickr group page.)

All the way at the west end of the promenade, the water was up over the grass, as Anne Kurt noticed:

Long Bach Nguyen‘s photo shows an example of how that happened:

Between waves, the photo ops:

And then there was the goofy side – this, from Guy Olson:

The surf lessened as you moved further from the north-facing shore – but MM still caught this at Jack Block Park:

P.S. One view from the south – Anne sent this from Point Williams at Lincoln Park, by Colman Pool:

This isn’t likely to repeat any time soon, probably much to the relief of residents and business owners at the beach – as we arrived on Alki for another look around mid-afternoon, one series of waves blew all the way across Alki Avenue SW into restaurant windows on the inland side.

11 Replies to "VIDEO/PHOTOS: Showstopper storm-surge waves at Alki, beyond"

  • Ray November 29, 2014 (10:50 pm)

    Darn. Didn’t even think of hitting Alki. Great pics.

    Was busy playing with the dog in the snow up near the water reservoir/dog park on 8th.

  • Ash Goulet November 29, 2014 (11:08 pm)

    Just a friendly reminder to all that parked alongside these waves, make sure to wash your cars!!! All of that salt water spray is terrible for your vehicle. Potentially rusting if left unwashed.

  • Beach resident November 30, 2014 (12:07 am)

    @Ash Goulet – Actually, I’ve parked my car on Beach Drive since 2001. The car is regularly coated with salt spray. I don’t have a garage, and I don’t wash my car. And, I haven’t had any rust problems. The car is getting kind of old, but it has held up pretty well.

    I know there’s a general idea that road salt destroys cars, but I don’t know what’s different. Is it big chunks of salt rather than dissolved salt?

  • Ray November 30, 2014 (12:11 am)

    It also depends on the materials on the car, the condition of the paint/clearcoat, and all sort of other factors.

    The other thing is we do tend to be damp here and the mist/light rains help rinse the heavier salts off.

  • kate November 30, 2014 (7:56 am)

    Lookin’ good Maurice!

  • sc November 30, 2014 (9:05 am)

    I do know that salt spray on eye glasses is bad. Don’t try to wipe them with cloth or tissue until you have rinsed your glasses with water. Wiping your glasses while dry will cause scratches on the lens.

  • Nwsurfer November 30, 2014 (9:56 am)

    Further down the beach during the right tides and strong north to northeast winds I have picked off waves along the point and surfed them for long distances. There you are also taking advantage of the natural landscape and not prone to be in direct wind best with a wide longboard though walking back up to the point with strong winds and surfboard in tow can be challenging.

  • Wild One November 30, 2014 (10:57 am)

    Awww man… I missed it!!!!

  • dawsonct December 3, 2014 (5:21 pm)

    He’s an interesting man, isn’t he Kate!

  • dawsonct December 3, 2014 (5:23 pm)

    Funny thing about Maurice’s picture, I recognized the life preserver before I recognized the man. Saw him wearing it around my work a few months back. Very entertaining and creative individual.

  • Terri Nakamura December 5, 2014 (1:00 pm)

    The day was just insane and wonderful. I texted a friend and said, “you really need to get down here.” Much to her regret, she missed the spectacular show!

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