Event narrative (NOAA)
Surf whipped up by Hurricane Guillermo pounded beaches in Orange County with waves from 6 to 12 feet high. Hundreds of people were rescued, but rip currents were blamed for three injuries and one death. On the fifth, a 19 year old man was swept away about a mile north of the Huntington Beach Pier. His body was recovered several days later. On the sixth, a teenage boy and girl were pummelled on a beach in Corona Del Mar. Another 18 year old was pulled ashore and sent to the hospital with neck injuries. In Newport Beach, lifeguards made nearly 300 rescues on the fifth and sixth alone.
Other notable rip current events in California
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Deaths and injuries are those NOAA classifies as direct. Damage is the reporting office's estimate at the time and is not inflation-adjusted. This is a catalogue record, not a forecast.