The National Weather Service issued high surf advisories Thursday morning for large portions Northern California, with waves up to 30 feet high expected to hit portions of the coast until Sunday.

An increasingly ferocious and volatile surf is raising questions about the future of the state’s piers, which have defined the coastline for generations.

A man died on a Santa Cruz beach Monday after being pinned under debris washed up by a large wave, authorities said. Another man has been reported missing.

A powerful storm pummeling the West Coast churned up waves as high as 60 feet, killing one man, sweeping another out to sea and prompting multiple rescues when a pier collapsed in Santa Cruz, California,

Waves up to 30 feet high were expected to crash ashore in Northern California between Thursday morning and Sunday afternoon.