Special Marine Warning Issued for Southern California Coastal Waters Including Santa Barbara Channel
This alert is no longer in effect.
NOAA issued it on April 6, 2026, 4 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The National Weather Service has issued a Special Marine Warning for coastal waters from Point Conception to San Mateo Point due to severe thunderstorms capable of producing waterspouts.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Special Marine Warning
- Affected area
- Southern California Coastal Waters
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard
Marine notices apply to named waters or shoreline zones. They may not describe conditions on land, even when the nearest place name is the same.
Record status: historical. It was issued 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Southern California Coastal Waters.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles/Oxnard CA has issued a Special Marine Warning (SMWLOX) for several coastal zones in Southern California. This alert was triggered by radar-indicated severe thunderstorms capable of producing dangerous marine conditions.
Affected Areas
The warning covers a broad area of coastal and outer waters, including:
- East Santa Barbara Channel: From Pt. Conception to Pt. Mugu, including Santa Cruz Island.
- Inner Waters: From Point Mugu to San Mateo Pt., including Santa Catalina and Anacapa Islands.
- Outer Waters: From Santa Cruz Island to San Clemente Island to 60 NM offshore, including San Nicolas and Santa Barbara Islands.
- Specific Locations: Impacted areas include Santa Barbara Island, San Nicolas Island, Anacapa Island, and Point Dume.
What You Should Do
Mariners and residents in the affected areas are advised to move to safe harbor immediately. You should remain in a secure location until the hazardous weather passes. Small craft are particularly vulnerable and could be damaged by sudden high winds and waves.
Expected Conditions
At 9:11 PM PST, radar detected a line of severe thunderstorms extending from 7 nm west of Point Mugu to 7 nm west of San Nicolas Island. These storms are moving northeast at 30 knots.
Primary Hazards:
- Waterspouts: These can easily overturn boats and create locally hazardous seas.
- Wind: Gusts are expected to reach nearly 50 knots.
- Waves: Suddenly higher waves are expected in the vicinity of the storms.
Timeline
The warning is effective immediately as of 9:12 PM PST, February 17, 2026. The alert is scheduled to expire at 10:00 PM PST on the same evening.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
Related Weather Alerts
All Weather Alerts →Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this NWS weather alert.