{"id":497418,"date":"2026-06-17T13:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/497418\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T13:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:54:12","slug":"el-nino-could-bring-disruptive-coastal-flooding-to-bay-area-this-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/497418\/","title":{"rendered":"El Ni\u00f1o Could Bring \u2018Disruptive Coastal Flooding\u2019 to Bay Area This Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists warn the potential super El Ni\u00f1o could push Bay Area tides to record highs from Santa Cruz to Marin.<\/p>\n

Jun 16, 2026<\/p>\n

Updated 2:38 pm PT<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Pacifica Municipal Pier in Pacifica on June 15, 2026, after structural damage forced its closure and the demolition of the Chit Chat Cafe. Experts say the brewing El Ni\u00f1o will likely mean unprecedented flooding in coastal cities.\u00a0(Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o forms when tropical trade winds weaken or reverse, allowing warm ocean water near Asia to move toward the Pacific Coast. This process heats the eastern Pacific Ocean and can alter the jet stream. As a result, it can lead to a stormier winter in California. It can also disrupt the ocean\u2019s upwelling \u2014 a natural process that drives cool, nutrient-rich water to the surface \u2014 raising local ocean temperatures and affecting marine life.<\/p>\n

The Pacific Ocean has risen by about 8 inches since the 1880s. State scientists project an additional rise of over a foot by 2050, and in worst-case scenarios, 6 feet or more by the end of the century.<\/p>\n

\u201cEl Ni\u00f1o is going to temporarily elevate that baseline even further,\u201d Swain said. \u201cThere\u2019s significant potential that the combination of accumulated global warming plus a very strong to maybe even historic El Ni\u00f1o event in its own right could cause big problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A home along Golden Hind Passage is raised above its foundation in Corte Madera on June 15, 2026. Some homeowners are elevating structures as part of long-term efforts to adapt to recurring tidal flooding. (Gustavo Hernandez\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Swain said El Ni\u00f1o could temporarily raise sea levels on average by \u201c6 inches to 2 feet in elevation for the rest of the year.\u201d Storms and onshore winds can also raise sea levels by a foot or two.<\/p>\n

Though that increase may not seem like a lot, combined, Swain said they could add up to a \u201cnet increase in sea level during the largest coastal flood events that\u2019s comparable to mid-chest height on the average person.\u201d<\/p>\n

This level of inundation<\/a> could pose a major risk when natural high tides and storms occur in tandem. Swain said elevated sea levels<\/a> will be a big deal for places that routinely flood across Northern California, including coastal cities like Pacifica<\/a>, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and parts of Marin County<\/a> along the bayshore.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, we kind of get to the point where 2 to 3 plus feet of temporary sea elevation is possible near California later this year during a major storm event and at least a foot or two the rest of the time,\u201d Swain said. \u201cWe may see all-time record high water levels during storm events or king tides this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that this advance notice should prompt local governments to prepare for the coming waves and high tides, especially agencies that run low-lying highways and communities that flood during extreme high tides and storm events.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have problems,\u201d Swain said. \u201cThere is some time to do some mitigation. You have several months at least before the most disruptive coastal flooding is likely to arrive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scientists warn the potential super El Ni\u00f1o could push Bay Area tides to record highs from Santa Cruz…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[242,85,46,141],"class_list":["post-497418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}