Santa Cruz cleans up following Atmospheric River aftermath

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) The second significant storm of the season brought days of strong winds, several inches of rain, flooding, and debris flows. Most watches and warnings have been lifted, with the exception of a high surf advisory that remained in effect until Wednesday morning.

Just a few steps away from the sidewalk that hugs Capitola Beach, you can see piles of driftwood, some beach erosion, and you can still hear the ocean rumbling in the background.

"I came here after work and I was trying to hold an umbrella and the wind so was strong, it almost broke. You can see here, the sand, the water are totally different. I can see the waves are pretty violent," said Tomnoy Bhowmick visiting from Campbell.

The large waves are the remnants of the passing storm that battered parts of the Central Coast. A High Surf Advisory remains in effect until 10am Wednesday, creating dangerous swimming and surfing conditions, with breaking waves 20 to 25 feet in the surf zone.

“You grow up in the ocean, you become experienced with the waves but defiantly important for other people who aren’t as cautious around the ocean who don’t have as much experience. You know you always hear about those tragedies, the families who are from out of town and they come to the beach and it's a beautiful, sunny day but they don’t realize waves come in sets and you can still become the victim," mentioned Capitola local Damian Alcaraz.

Capitola has seen its fair share of storms in the past. Waves tend to slam into nearby businesses, and Sequel Creek can introduce its own debris.

"The water can be a little bit dirtier during the storms, as a lot of stuff comes out of the river so always be aware of that if you’re a surfer. It even washed up a little boat here. It was like a smaller creek craft not quite an ocean vessel. Unique! Something you don’t see every day,” continued Alcaraz.

Though there was major impacts from this storm, especially in the Santa Cruz Mountains, many said they have seen worse.

“The winter 17 to 18 was horrendous. Trees, a lot of trees down. Lost power for a week," said Andrew Deniger from Elkhorn. "We were fortunate! No worries about burn scars or anything like that. We just got to enjoy the rain," added Katherine Dekker.

Others said they were ready. "The roads didn’t flood as bad as we thought and we stayed local so not too much of an impact but we were defiantly prepared,” said Capitola resident.

Aside from the high surf advisory, the air had little bite. The backside of the storm brought chilly temperatures into the region.