'Crazy' Wind, Surge Shock Locals

Monday night's wind gusts scattered leaves and palm fronds across the city, and a surge appears to have damaged the outer concrete lining of the Redondo Breakwall.

At the storm's peak, an inland weather station in Redondo Beach measured wind speeds at up to 25 mph with gusts as high as 36 mph at about 5 p.m., according to Weather Undergound. A weather station near the beach in nearby Hermosa Beach measured wind gusts as high as 26 mph at about 7 p.m.

A surge at Redondo Breakwall coincided with the strong winds, according to weather data. A buoy in the Santa Monica Bay measured a significant wave height of about 11.5 feet late afternoon Monday.

The concrete lining the Redondo Breakwall appears to have been damaged, though it's not known whether this was due to the surge. According to Evan Gramis, who took the photos, there were no signs of cleanup or repair crews at the damaged spot by mid-afternoon Tuesday.

As usual, locals took to Twitter to express their amazement at the wind.

"The wind is about to break my window," wrote Tyler Kimura, who gave his location as Redondo Beach.

Yukio Yukes Taira, who appeared to be tweeting from Torrance, wrote, "Just found out how my hood of my car can act like a sail when I was changing out the battery in this crazy wind."

Still others found themselves on what seemed to be the receiving end of a sandblaster.

"My workout was interrupted by crazy wind by the beach," tweeted Manhattan Beach resident Trevor Kaufman. "I was eating sand (though) not intentionally."