Tsunami Advisory for California 29.Sept.09

[bbianchi]

Probably would be safe to hold off on any night dives, or delay any early morning diving in areas that are usually likely to have currents.

From NOAA:

This advisory is in effect for Hawaii, California, and Oregon

A tsunami advisory indicates a tsunami which may produce strong currents and is dangerous to those in or very near the water is expected.

Also from AlertSF:

At 10:48 am an 8.0 earthquake was registered off the coast of American Samoa. At 1502 hours a Tsunami Advisory was issued for the coast of California. The tsunami is expected to generate a wave amplitude of less than 50 cm for San Francisco. This may cause currents that can be hazardous for boaters and swimmers, but it is not expected to do damage to the coastline. The first waves are expected to hit SF at approximately 2125 hours and last for a few hours. We are advising the public to please avoid swimming and boating this evening.

 

[Anti-Hero]

This was on another forum I frequent:

BULLETIN
TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 3
NWS WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER PALMER AK
302 PM PDT TUE SEP 29 2009

...A TSUNAMI ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE
COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA AND OREGON FROM THE
CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO THE OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER...

...THIS MESSAGE IS INFORMATION ONLY FOR COASTAL AREAS OF
WASHINGTON - BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA FROM THE
OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER TO ATTU ALASKA...

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED WHICH COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE
ADVISORY REGIONS LISTED IN THE HEADLINE. PERSONS
IN LOW-LYING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO INSTRUCTIONS FROM
THEIR LOCAL EMERGENCY OFFICIALS. EVACUATIONS ARE ONLY ORDERED BY
EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCIES.
- PERSONS IN TSUNAMI ADVISORY AREAS SHOULD MOVE OUT OF THE
WATER... OFF THE BEACH AND OUT OF HARBORS AND MARINAS.

THIS MESSAGE IS BASED ON EARTHQUAKE DATA... OBSERVED TSUNAMI
AMPLITUDES... HISTORICAL INFORMATION AND FORECAST MODELS.

A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN OBSERVED AT THE FOLLOWING SITES

LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL
------------------------ ----- ------ ------- -----------
APIA WEST SAMOA 13.8S 171.8W 1832UTC 0.70M/2.3FT
PAGO PAGO AMER. SAMOA 14.3S 170.7W 1825UTC 1.57M/5.1FT
RAROTONGA COOK IS. (NZ 21.2S 159.8E 1950UTC 0.54M/1.8FT
FORECASTS INDICATE THAT A TSUNAMI WITH AMPLITUDES IN THE RANGE
OF 20 TO 65CM IS EXPECTED ALONG THE CALIFORNIA AND OREGON COAST.
TSUNAMIS OF THIS AMPLITUDE CAN GENERATE STRONG CURRENTS DANGEROUS
TO THOSE VERY NEAR OR IN THE OCEAN. THE TSUNAMI IS EXPECTED TO
BUILD AND REACH ITS MAXIMUM APPROXIMATELY ONE AND A HALF HOURS
AFTER THE INITIAL ARRIVAL. FURTHER ARRIVAL TIMES AND OTHER
INFORMATION IS LISTED IN THE WEB SITE BELOW.

TIME - TIME OF MEASUREMENT
AMPL - TSUNAMI AMPLITUDES ARE MEASURED RELATIVE TO NORMAL SEA LEVEL.
IT IS ...NOT... CREST-TO-TROUGH WAVE HEIGHT.
VALUES ARE GIVEN IN BOTH METERS(M) AND FEET(FT).

PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
MAGNITUDE - 8.0
TIME - 0948 AKDT SEP 29 2009
1048 PDT SEP 29 2009
1748 UTC SEP 29 2009
LOCATION - 15.3 SOUTH 171.0 WEST
- SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
DEPTH - 21 MILES/33 KM

THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER IN EWA BEACH HAWAII HAS
CANCELLED THE WARNING FOR COUNTRIES IN THE SAMOA REGION.

TSUNAMI ADVISORIES MEAN THAT A TSUNAMI CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
STRONG CURRENTS OR WAVES DANGEROUS TO PERSONS IN OR VERY NEAR THE
WATER IS IMMINENT OR EXPECTED. SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREAD INUNDATION
IS NOT EXPECTED FOR AREAS UNDER AN ADVISORY. CURRENTS MAY BE
HAZARDOUS TO SWIMMERS... BOATS... AND COASTAL STRUCTURES AND MAY
CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THE INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL.

THIS MESSAGE WILL BE UPDATED IN 60 MINUTES OR SOONER IF
THE SITUATION WARRANTS. THE TSUNAMI MESSAGE WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. REFER TO THE INTERNET SITE
WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV FOR MORE INFORMATION.

65 cm. LOL - Not much of a tsunami.

 

[rdjiv]

Maybe not for you but those within the range of that 8.0 magnitude earthquake sure felt it. Waves not might be big but as stated, we can expect some extra current.

 

[fuggler]

We tried to dive off a friend's boat yesterday. He took us to Trevor's Pinnacle, decided it looked too crappy, and turned the boat around. Breakwater was actually diveable though.

 

[ItsBruce]

The dive boat on which I was to dive today, cancelled.