The Coastal Bulletin

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State of emergency: California is bracing for a record El Niño winter

Until Mar 31, 1:00 AM

Governor Newsom proclaimed a statewide state of emergency on September 21 to prepare California for an El Niño that NOAA gives better than a 90 percent chance of becoming very strong and a 75 percent chance of being the strongest on record since 1950. State officials are preparing for repeated rounds of heavy rain, flooding, coastal flooding, large surf, debris flows, and power outages through the winter. A pulse of warm water is due to lift sea level on the Southern California coast by 6 to 12 inches by October, and the eastern Pacific hurricane season is forecast well above average, which means more south swell arriving on top of already high water. Officials are asking Californians to prepare their homes and families now: keep emergency supplies and water on hand, sign up for local emergency alerts, know the evacuation route from home, and follow the direction of emergency officials once storms arrive. The proclamation directs all residents to obey emergency officials during this emergency. Nautical News has the full story, including when the sea level rise reaches each city and what the 1997 to 1998 winter looked like.