California’s stretch of calm, dry weather is about to flip, and the ocean is set to get dramatic in the process. A series of storms tied to a strengthening El Nino will sweep the state over the next week, bringing widespread rain, Sierra Nevada snow, and coastal waves that could tower 40 feet or more near San Francisco and hit 60 feet at the Mavericks surf spot, per the New York Times. Most rain will land in Northern California, where the forecast calls for up to 6 inches; the Bay Area could see about 2 inches, while Los Angeles looks to see less than 1 inch.
If the giant waves hit during high tide, that could exacerbate things, says UC Santa Cruz coastal scientist Gary Griggs. “There’s absolutely nothing we can do to hold back the Pacific Ocean,” he tells the San Francisco Chronicle. Experts say flood risk is low and the storms will help refill reservoirs and dampen wildfire danger, but they warn of slick commutes, wind gusts snapping dried-out tree branches, treacherous mountain travel, and beach conditions best watched via webcam, not up close, per the Times. “People should log into their computers,” says National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Garcia. “They should not be going down anywhere near the [water] at all.”
So just how strong will this El Nino be? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center said in a Thursday memo that the storm system will likely continue to grow through the rest of 2026, and that by early next year, chances are good it could “[surpass] the strength of all events since 1950,” per SFGate. “This is not your normal El Nino,” UC San Diego oceanographer Daniel Rudnick tells the outlet. The Los Angeles Timesmeanwhile, gets into the debate on just how bad the storm system will be.
Source: www.newser.com
