The Mighty Carmel Reaches the Sea

For the first time all winter, the Carmel River has broken through the sand berm and reached the sea! The river made the breach just within the past two days...I was here on Feb 15 and it was still not flowing under highway 1. We've had over four inches of rain this month, after getting just six for the entire rainy season through January.

The surf was quite hefty today! It had a brownish tint near the mouth of the river. A shower looms in the background; it reached the beach about 15 minutes later.

The lagoon is less extensive than when the river was confined behind the sand berm, but it's still a nice home for hundreds of birds. Towering CU loom in the background. Most of the birds aren't here at the moment; they went for a flight a few minutes before I took the pic.