12-foot waves destroying homes in Southern California, all from a hurricane nearly 1,000 miles away.
This was Marie, one of many tropical cyclones in the Pacific this season. It tracked hundreds of miles off the coast of Baja California, but its broad wind field generated long-period swells that can travel great distances.
When they reached Southern California, waves of 12 feet or higher crashed ashore, running up beaches and into exposed homes.
But there’s an extra piece to the puzzle: El Niño.
It can help create a more favorable environment for hurricanes in the Pacific.
Meanwhile, it comes with warmer, less-dense ocean water being pushed and piled up along the western coastline of the Americas. In addition, warm water expands slightly, increasing sea levels even more. With an extra-strong El Niño developing, the temporary sea-level rise could reach a foot or more in some places.
Couple that with high tide and high waves, and you have the recipe for coastal flooding and damage.