Cannon Beach - Storm Safety

Cannon Beach's winter storms can be exciting, awesome and beautiful, if watched from a safe distance. But there are many dangers. Hidden logs can cause serious injury or death. Waves come from unexpected directions and can catch you by surprise, as can unexpectedly huge waves. At times the waves come right up onto Gower Street. You can be standing in the street and be caught in a wave. And there are powerful currents and rip tides. A storm is not the time to be near the water. Do your storm watching from high ground WELL AWAY from the water.

What does a Cannon Beach storm look like? There is beauty and power in a storm... but there are also things you can't see lurking beneath the waves.

Did you see the log floating in the water? In the summer you'll see big logs in the sand, far away from the water. This is how they got there. This video was made with the camera up on the dunes. When you are standing at the water level, or in the water, floating logs are much more difficult (at times impossible) to spot. Also notice that during storms waves can come from any direction, even from the side. Always keep an eye on the water.

During storms the water may not only cover all of the beach, but at times it comes up onto the streets. Expect the unexpected. There can be sneaker waves, meaning unexpected large waves that wash over the beach. You'll hear people laughing in videos showing sneaker waves, but sneaker waves do kill.