Exceptionally high tides will swamp California, ‘likely to get worse before it gets better’ – Los Angeles Times

Exceptionally high tides will swamp California, ‘likely to get worse before it gets better’  Los Angeles Times

Exceptionally high tides are set to hit California as early as this weekend, sending officials scrambling to prepare for another onslaught along the state's already battered coast. The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood warning that goes into effect Sunday morning and lasts through Thursday afternoon, saying it expects "significant coastal flooding" in San Diego and Orange counties that will inundate low-lying homes, businesses and critical infrastructure, with some shoreline erosion in the morning throughout the warning period. Significant-to-moderate beach erosion is likely in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, and "isolated damage of structures due to sea water inundation is possible," forecasters said. A coastal flood advisory has been issued over the same time period in those four counties.

"Take the necessary actions to protect flood-prone property," the weather service said. In the San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay areas, forecasters warned of up to 1.9 feet of inundation above ground level near shorelines and tidal waterways, with rising tides bringing waves farther up the beach than normal, "restricting escape from beaches and coastal areas." A coastal flood advisory for those areas goes into effect Saturday morning and lasts through Thursday afternoon. The shoreline has already been hammered by an unprecedented confluence of threats this year: the arrival of El Niño off the coast