It was a high tide and high swell event, so the breach wasn't dramatic. I, and others, watched as it slowly opened to the Pacific Ocean for the first time in months, as the big sandbar had kept the river closed. It opened at the extreme far north end. Teresa Denniston photographed the river the next morning.

Here's what you shouldn't do when the river is breaching the sandbar.

Those people were very fortunate that the sandbar they were sitting on didn't give way. The best place to watch the river open is from the Gualala Bluff Trail.

As I watched on Sunday, bull kelp that had been swept into the closed river by the high tides, was swept out to sea. Steelhead and hopefully Coho Salmon were also swept out to sea to begin the next stage of their lives. Other fish will be entering the river to spawn. There are lots of comings and goings on the Gualala River!

The river did close again two days later, but with all the storms stacked up over the next week, the river will once again open. We are fortunate that it is so easy to observe the fascinating Gualala River.

Thanks to Teresa for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

Clouds are piling in after a sunny morning. Rain is in today's forecast, with a bigger storm due Sunday. Batten down the hatches!