Storm Eleanor Brings Massive Waves And Destruction To Cornwall’s Coastline

Storm Eleanor arrived in the south west overnight, bringing huge waves and destruction with her.

The giant swell, which peaked at 28 foot just off the coast of Lands End, was accompanied by very large tides, with this morning’s high water leaving a serious amount of carnage in its wake.

Although the Cornish coastline is used to taking a battering from storms, the damage sustained today seems almost unprecedented. Four business kiosks located at Newquay harbour were smashed to bits and washed into the sea, in Portreath, a 40 foot section of the harbour wall collapsed and in Porthminster an art gallery was flooded, destroying thousands of pounds worth of paintings. There are also reports of flooding in Perranporth and Bude.

“Strong winds will continue through much of today. Storm Eleanor is now over the North Sea and although winds are not expected to be as strong as during Tuesday evening and last night, it has left a swathe of strong winds in its wake,” a spokesperson for the Met Office said earlier today.

In surfing news, Cornwall’s north west facing coastline was pretty much a write-off, save for a few nooks and crannies and for those who knew where to look, there were fun waves to be enjoyed.

Further a field, the swell generated by Eleanor has been delivering the goods for Devon, Dorset, the IOW and beyond, with the run of waves looking set to continue into the coming days.

For the south west, tomorrow sees a slight decrease in size before the swell fills in again on Friday. The wind is set to remain strong and predominantly westerly. Further out the chart is extremely changeable, however there’s potential for cleaner conditions into the weekend and early next week.

Check back soon for a full round up gallery featuring all the surfing action from this run of swell all over Europe.

Cover photo @lugarts