(Dave Rogers)

At a Glance

A photographer captured photos of U.S. Coast Guard boats being hurled in high surf off San Francisco's Ocean Beach.The boats were conducting a training exercise in waves that reached as high as 15 feet."One of the boats was completely on its side," said photographer Dave Rogers.

Just days before the National Weather Service warned of dangerously high surf along the West Coast, photos of a pair of U.S. Coast Guard boats being hurled by colossal waves at San Francisco's Ocean Beach surfaced and social media caught wind.

Captured by , the Coast Guard boats enduring the , BMC Robert Paulino of the Coast Guard's Golden Gate Station told the San Francisco Chronicle.

"We're used to training conditions like that," said BM1 Matthew Whitlow. "It's one of those things where we're experienced with it, but you're never fully experienced because every wave is different."

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Paulino and Whitlow said waves off Ocean Beach reached some 15 feet, which is the ceiling for training exercises. Anything higher than that begins to get too dangerous.

Each of the 47' lifeboats — built to navigate 30 foot swells and breaking waves 20 feet high — had six USCG members onboard. Each of the members was tethered to the ship, keeping them from falling overboard into the ocean, Whitlow said.

"One of the boats was completely on its side," Rogers recalled. "It was pretty incredible to watch."

Later in the week, The NWS Bay Area issued a high surf warning that advised people to "."

The in the Eureka, California, area and Noyo Harbor near Fort Bragg, California, due to the large swells.