A waterspout may have formed just off the Zuma Beach coast last night … as a last wave of rain blasted through the Malibu.

The National Weather Service issued a very unusual severe storm warning at 7-27 last night … warning that waterspouts or tornadoes were possible. 

A blast of cold air moved downtime coast … bringing with it 70 mile per hour wind out at sea … 

Winds at Leo Carrillo beach were briefly clocked at 48 mph.

And at 7:45 … radar showed what looked like a hook … a classic sign of rotation in the clouds above a possible waterspout.

This was about 2 miles offshore from Trancas.

The rotation disappeared … but a wall of rain came down in strong winds. 

A similar event … with a small tornado actually developing … came ashore yesterday afternoon at Grover beach … up near Pismo beach.

Last night’s blast of storm dropped a third inch of rain along the coast .. more than a half inch in the local mountains … and nearly 3/4 of an inch in hard-hit Topanga Canyon. 

That brings their rain total for the past week to 15 inches.

 

Caltrans Planning Emergency Repairs At Giant Sand Dune

The situation is changing for motorists on Highway 1 between Oxnard and Malibu.

Churning ocean waves have stripped the beach of all its sand … at Thornhill Broome Beach.

And they’ve undermined the pavement at the edge of pacific Coast Highway.

The road closed again overnight … too dangerous with a pounding high tide expected cup against the sand cliff under the highway.

An 8.1 foot high tide is expected to crest at 7:27 this morning.

And the National Weather Service said yesterday that actual high tides are running a half foot higher than predicted during these winter storms.

Caltrans officials tell KBUU News that this latest heavy storm washed away rock slope protection across from the giant sand dune. 

Caltrans has reduced travel in both directions to one lane, utilizing the two northbound lanes with traffic in one lane in each direction. Caltrans also is closing this portion of SR1/PCH at night in both directions

The current plan is to build a new a temporary roadway along the northbound shoulder to provide two lanes in each direction … while the road lane next to the waves is shut down to allow for construction activities during this emergency repair project.

A cost figure is not available for this work but based on unofficial preliminary estimates, the repair cost is likely to exceed $7 million. 

That is subject to change and is not a final or official figure, only a rough guesstimate.

A permanent restoration project will most likely follow-up this repair for a more robust solution to protect the roadway against high waves and storm surge

 

Gigantic Boulder Nearly Smushes House Under Cliff, Again

Another gigantic boulder came down right next ti a small house on PCH in eastern Malibu during the storm.

The red wooden house … across PCH from Duke’s … lost its electric meter when he boulder rolled off the cliff and down to the highway.

Randall Miod told CBS Los Angeles he was inside the house when the boulder came loose.

NEWSCART B70078 BOULDER RANDALL MIOD 

“In was just chilling Sunday night at about 10, watching television, when it hear ‘kaboom’.”

This latest boulder is the size for a small car. 

Caltrans crews pushed it away from his house.

But the electric meter on the side of the house was crushed … and Randall Miod remained blacked out yesterday.  

The unstable cliff above the wood frame house also let loose with a gigantic boulder several years go.

And a car that was parked near there was crushed and totaled by a falling boulder right near there … last year. 

 

Brand-New Bikeway Built on Sand Collapses In Palisades

A brand new section of beachfront bikeway has collapsed into the raging creek flowing down Santa Monica Canyon.

County officials had just dedicated the new alignment for the bikeway a few months ago.

T his isn towards the ocean from the corner of PCH at Chauauqua/Entrada.

The entire new structure collapsed…. Along with several dozen feet newly installed bikeway,.

Churning waters coming out from below the PCH bridge just ripped the flimsy structures out.

It appears that the old bikeway pedestrian bridge … up close to PCH … survived.

 

LAPD Plans Crackdown On Reckless Road Idiots Just East Of Malibu

And not too far away …. 

Los Angeles police have identified a section of Pacific Coast Highway as a hotbed of street racing … takeovers … and other dangerous in your face lawless antics.

Pacific Coast Highway near Temescal Canyon is one of 16 areas that will get special enforcement by LAPD.

Yesterday … the Los Angeles City Council advanced a list of recommendations Tuesday aimed at combating street racing and intersection takeovers.

The LA Department of Transportation wants to install hardened centerlines, Bott’s Dots or raised pavement markers, rumble strips and the installation of gutters at intersections.

LAPD will request funding for the purchase and installation of cameras at the 16 intersections. 

The total cost has not been determined.

And the LA city council yesterday dickered over whether they will pay for this. 

At last night’s Malibu Public Safety Commission meeting … the sheriff’s department liaison to Malibu said local deputies are talking to LA and Santa Monica police about problems that shift from city to city every night. 

Sgt. Chris Soderlund says the governor’s office wants to fund special enforcement teams on PCH.

NEWSCART B70079 PCH GRANTS 

“And they also want to increase awareness on PCH so they are in the works of playing with us Santa Monica Police Department in Los Angeles we Storment, a task force, where one day we’re going to be all out in force on PCH from basically the 10 freeway to the county line.”

Two members of the Malibu city council are asking for the state legislature to crack down on repeat speeding offenders.

Paul Grisanti and Doug Stewart want the stater vehicle code changed.

They want the state to yank drivers licenses from anyone caught driving more than the posted speed limit.00 miles per hour.

First offense … one month.

Second ticket … a two month suspension. 

And for anyone caught going over 100 miles per hour … a three month suspension. 

Their proposed plea to Sacramento goes to the city council Monday night. 

 

SMPD Writing Extra Tickets Today

Fair warning.

Police in Santa Monica will be out in force today …  conducting a traffic law enforcement operation focused on law violations involving motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists.

Cops will be at the various locations where pedestrian and bike collisions are prevalent.

They will be looking for cars that are speeding, making illegal turns, failing to stop for bicyclists or pedestrians, or rolling stop for signs.

Bicyclists violating the traffic codes will also get tickets.

Santa Monica police say their crackdowns have led to a dramatic drop in the number of “injury-causing crashes” involving bicyclists — from some 150 in 2012 to 72 last year.

Bicyclists and motorists involved in serious crashes since 2010 have been almost equally at fault … Santa Monica police say.

 

Santa Anas And Warmer Weather Coming

Warmer and sunny weather is moving in. 

But it is cold this morning.

Just 44 degrees at Charmlee Park .. up Encinal Canyon. 

And there are 35 mile per hour winds up there … 

Gradual warming into the weekend … and it does look like there will be a low end Santa Ana on Sunday morning.

There will likely be 4 days of warming and by Wednesday the afternoon high temps will be close to normal.

Extended projections continue to show a chance for another storm

system for the next weekend (the 24th or 25th) with a wide range of outcomes.

=====