So it's been a hot spring and you're ready to burst forth and get your toes wet for summer's traditional opening weekend?

Well, Mother Nature is playing a cruel joke on you for the Memorial Day holiday.

Not only are we expecting cooler temps, clouds and even drizzle along the coast, but the Pacific Ocean just might want to swallow you whole. So be careful:

The National Weather Service has issued a “coastal hazard message” that applies from this afternoon through Saturday along the L.A. coast.

You can expect:

Credit: Heal the Bay

Credit: Heal the Bay

-Hazardous surf.

-Strong rip currents.

-And gale-force winds.

Surf is forecast to be in the 8 to 11 foot range by Friday night. Wow.

That will chew you up and spit you out if your hitting the water with a Boogie board and arm floaties for the first time since last September.

The ocean temps are unusually warm, in the low- to mid-60s, which is still wetsuit territory but getting better.

The website Surfline is going with a much more modest surf forecast for the likes of Venice, which it says will see only 2 to 3 foot waves this weekend. We'll see.

In any case, use caution.

Happy holiday.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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