Three weather systems in the Pacific Ocean are churning — one a hurricane, another a tropical depression and a third a super typhoon — but none is causing the high surf that kicked up along south shores yesterday.

The National Weather Service issued a high-surf advisory for south-facing shores through 6 a.m. today. The surf was created by a storm in New Zealand a week ago and is projected to create waves of 6 to 8 feet.

Lifeguards were busy over the weekend with more than 400 "preventive measures," or warnings to stay out of the water at Waikíkí and Ala Moana beaches. Seven people were rescued at the two beaches, said Bryan Cheplic, Emergency Services Department spokesman.

Out in the Pacific, the weather service kept an eye on Tropical Depression 3C, as it was named by the National Weather Service yesterday morning.

Last night, it was 725 miles south-southeast of South Point on the Big Island, said Raymond Tanabe, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Hurricane Rick, a Category 3 storm, was weakening slightly. It is headed toward southern Baja California, Mexico, and is moving west-northwest, a path it should follow over the next two days, Tanabe said.

And Super Typhoon Lupit was heading toward the Philippines.

Tropical Depression 3C packed winds of 15 to 20 mph and has been increasing since forecasters began watching it a week ago, Ta-nabe said. It is steadily moving west, but over the next 48 hours, forecasters will see how close the storm will get to Johnston Island, which could be under a storm watch tonight.

Tropical Depression 3C started as a group of unrelated thunderstorms that came together. To get to hurricane strength, it will first have to become a tropical storm.

Its name — 3C — is for the number of storms formed in the central Pacific, the "C" meaning central.

Only after it becomes a tropical storm will it be named. Then it will be called Neki.

"Steady strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours," Tanabe said. "We've been monitoring this for several days now, and it's now strong enough for us to call it a tropical depression."

Given 3C's current track, it should stay well south of the state, Tanabe said. But the next four days could change that forecast. It is the third system to develop in the central Pacific region.

Hurricane season ends Nov. 30. Tropical Depression 3C is considered a late-season storm, but not uncommon for El Niño conditions.

As for Rick, it most likely will head toward Mexico's Baja California coast and weaken along the way.

By today, an advisory may have to be issued for a hurricane watch for portions of southern Baja and along the west-central coast of Mexico.

"Rick poses no direct impact for us at this time," Ta-nabe said. "We're closely monitoring it. Everything we're looking at now indicates it will stay on its north northwest track."