A pair of powerful hurricanes roiling the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday could send big waves to Southern California beaches as soon as Friday, with the turbulent surf expected to continue through the weekend, when tides will be especially high. While uncertainty remained in the forecast, meteorologists watching the storms said they were confident that the main impact would be surf that could cause flooding and erosion at the coast.

One of the storms, Polo, is among the strongest hurricanes on record in the Pacific, and on Wednesday it was barreling along the coast of southwest Mexico. To the west, the less powerful Hurricane Odalys churned over the open sea. Neither storm is set up quite the same as Hurricane Marie, which generated waves with a clear path toward Southern California earlier this month, but together they will stir up the ocean.

It is highly unlikely that Polo or Odalys will cross over to land in California. Most projections show Polo traveling northwest along the coast of southwest Mexico and turning toward Baja but not making landfall. Odalys will stay even farther from land. But even a far-off storm can have an impact, as seen when Marie's swell damaged properties from Long Beach to Dana Point.

Big waves from Odalys could reach Southern California as early as Friday. The surf activity is expected to intensify on Sunday, with waves from Polo arriving as the tide is rising. Moisture from the storms could drift into Southern California but will not be enough for heavy rain, though it could bring scattered showers Sunday through Tuesday.