Tsunami advisory lifted; surging waves still a danger

A tsunami advisory that remained in effect early Saturday for California's three northern-most coastal counties finally has been lifted.

But forecasters warned that surging waves could still pose a danger in coves and inlets through Sunday, and they urged the public to steer clear of the coast if possible.

"There's still some local concerns," said Mel Nordquist, operations officer with the National Weather Service in Eureka. "Humboldt Bay is still surging in and out. There's probably still some unusual current and strong waves down around Point Arena Cove, and then Crescent City is the most active, probably, on the coast. They're still seeing 2-to-3-foot waves coming out of there."

Crescent City experienced some of the worst damage on the California Coast on Friday in the wake of a powerful 8.9 magnitude quake that devastated the island nation of Japan and generated a tsunami that struck along the eastern Pacific.

Though a tsunami warning through most of the California coast was downgraded to an advisory Friday afternoon, and then lifted altogether, an advisory remained in effect Saturday morning for Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte Counties, until it was lifted around 8:30 a.m.

"I really want to stress that ... this is not kind of an all clear," Nordquist said afterward. "It still can be dangerous down in certain beaches and inlets and things."

Irregular coast line amplifies already surging waves, the National Weather Service warned. The most dangerous place to be is in a narrow inlet with rock cliff sides.

"The whole Pacific Ocean has both waves bouncing back and forth," Nordquist said. "The main tsunami is over, but there still are little reflections."