Swell of 1983

A period of moderate-to-huge winter surf along the American West Coast and Hawaii, lasting roughly from mid-January to mid-March, generated by a chain of El Niño–fortified storms in the North Pacific. "Landmarks fell into the ocean, seawalls came down, porches fell into the surf, trees drifted through the lineup, " North Shore surf photographer and writer Bernie Baker reported. "Beaches completely disappeared in some areas and doubled in size in others. It was almost surreal." Along with hund...