High tides and El Niño swells chew away Malibu beaches Play

High tides Monday will peak at around 7 feet at about 7 p.m. — the highest of the week.

Be advised that actual high tide levels have been measured roughly 6 to 8 inches higher than the predicted levels for the past summer.

That's because of unusual ocean conditions spurred by El Niño - a "Kelvin Wave" - which is squeezing water up against the South American coast and pushing it in our direction, causing ocean levels here to rise bu 6-12 inches above normal.

That, combined with the monthly cycle peaking, is why the waves are so high as th ehurricnaewaves arrive here.

With sand significantly eroded by the recent hurricane, it's not a pretty picture on the beaches. Zuma Beach right now is about half the width it was earlier this week, and significantly lower as well. Broad Beach is rocks only.

Down at Westward Beach the situation is beginning to look really bad. The access road to the Point Dume Beach parking area -- east of the Sunset Restaurant has already washed away.

The beach has nearly washed away at the Sunset Restaurant; there's still some sand but not much, and it's quite wet at high tide.

From there all the way west over to the channel where Zuma Creek empties into the ocean, there's barely any beach left.

The main part of Zuma Beach was flooded Saturday and again on Sunday by the high tide, with ponding right up to the parking lots. But we did not see any water in the parking lots themselves, at high tide.

Sunday night, a person was helicoptered off the rocks at Point Dume, when they were stranded bny the rising tide.