Kelvin has left the Southern California coastline \u2013 for now.<\/p>\n
The big Kelvin wave<\/a> that came through in recent weeks has moved out of the area, according to Andrew Leising, a research oceanographer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The slow-moving warm water waves start at the equator and stretch for thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n \u201cThey pass through and they keep going,\u201d Leising said. \u201cThey keep going up the coastline.\u201d<\/p>\n There could be up to four more on the way, he said, coming in spurts every couple weeks in coming months, all with different strengths.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one that came through was possibly the strongest one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n There\u2019s another Kelvin wave that will hit the southern tip of Baja in late October and make its way up the coast, reaching local waters by the end of November, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next one a bit bigger, roughly hitting sometime in probably later November \u2013 unfortunately, it could come around that next king tide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n King tides, which are seasonal and tied to gravitational pull, are expected Nov. 24-25, with tides upward of 7 feet expected. Add extra water levels anywhere from a foot or two from a Kelvin wave, and low-lying areas could see flooding.<\/p>\n Kelvin waves make water \u201cthicker,\u201d Leising said, making the whole water column \u201ctaller,\u201d up to about a foot.<\/p>\n \u201cThanksgiving will be, I think, the worst time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Coastal cities will be keeping an eye out for any swells; if big waves combine with the high-tide levels, it could spell trouble like what happened on Oct. 9 when Newport Beach\u2019s streets and homes were flooded<\/a>, and beachfront homes in Long Beach<\/a> and Dana Point<\/a> were battered by raging hurricane-fueled surf.<\/p>\n A third Kelvin wave is on track to show up in late December or early January, Leising said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey kind of come in pulses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Kelvin waves are difficult to see with the naked eye because they are large in scale, slow-moving, and don\u2019t break onshore like typical ocean waves, according to NOAA.<\/p>\n Kelvin waves move slowly \u2014 at about five to 10 mph \u2014 and can take about two to three months to cross the Pacific Ocean before reaching the South American coast and moving up toward the US.<\/p>\n Kelvin waves that travel alongside the coastline are called \u201ccoastally trapped.\u201d<\/p>\n