CoastTuesday, November 3
Santa Barbara's sea level hit a record last week, and El Niño could bring more coastal flooding
The Daily Santa Barbara team
If you spend time near the water, take note: sea levels hit all-time records last week in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego Bay and La Jolla. At the San Pedro gauge in L.A., the water reached 8.19 feet on Oct. 27, topping the 7.93-foot record from Jan. 10, 2005.
Sea level ran above expected along the coast last week
Source: Los Angeles Times
View as table
| Value | |
|---|---|
| San Diego | 1.4 ft |
| Los Angeles | 1.3 ft |
| San Francisco | 1.1 ft |
With El Niño building, last week's flooding came from a record-hot ocean combined with higher-than-normal tides, and powerful storms bringing big waves would add a third factor. Robbie Munroe, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard, said waters ran "a foot to a foot and a half above what we would normally expect." King tides are due around Thanksgiving, Christmas and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. On Oct. 26, coastal flooding advisories also covered parts of Santa Barbara County.
- Scripps Pier: 75.4 degrees Saturday, 11.1 above the Halloween average
- Huntington Beach: 114 homes and structures damaged by seawater
- Marin County: bayside flooding of up to 2 feet
Federal scientists see an 83% chance of a record El Niño
83%chance this El Niño is the strongest since 1950
Source: Los Angeles Times
View as table
| Value | |
|---|---|
| chance this El Niño is the strongest since 1950 | 83% |
Sources: Los Angeles Times, OKC Thunder Wire