Hurricane expected to weaken to tropical storm by Sunday night
Hurricane Marie remained well out in the Pacific on Sunday as its outer swell drove hazardous conditions onto southern California’s beaches. The storm is expected to weaken to a tropical storm by late Sunday and dissipate afterward, and forecasters said it will not make landfall, but its effects reached the shore.
Rose Schoenfeld, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said Sunday that Marie had stirred up “life-threatening” conditions as it churned in the ocean hundreds of miles off California’s Pacific coast. Some south-facing beaches recorded surf up to 10 feet (3 meters) high, she said.
“We’re getting reports from lifeguards that the surf conditions are very dangerous, specifically the rip currents,” Schoenfeld said.
Schoenfeld said the conditions posed a threat to swimmers and surfers at south-facing southern California beaches over the Labor Day weekend.
Forecasters said the storm would still bring rain to parts of Los Angeles County before dissipating. Some parts of the area had already received as much as a quarter inch of rain in the few hours since the precipitation began at around 4 a.m. local time Sunday, according to Schoenfeld.