California coast braces for another battering as new El Nio-related wave emerges in Pacific

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Set us as preferred California beach communities are expected to see rising sea levels in the coming weeks as El Niño continues to strengthen, with more sand erosion and damage possible, according to new data.Another El Niño-influenced phenomenon — a “coastally trapped Kelvin wave” — is moving up the coast of Mexico and will soon hit the U.S.West Coast.This isn’t a surfable wave, and it wouldn’t be overtly noticeable to swimmers or boaters either.

But it is expected to increase the sea level off the California coast by another 6 inches or so, and its effects could last months, according to Dillon Amaya, an expert on coastally trapped waves and an assistant professor at North Carolina State University’s Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.It might not sound like much, but another 6 inches of sea level rise could further bludgeon the already battered California coast, especially if combined with the effects from a storm.

California Strong surf across Southern California this weekend blasted through a seawall in Long Beach, caused a massive sinkhole at a celebrity’s Malibu home and damaged several Dana Point homes, among other issues.“We saw why that’s important recently, with houses across Southern California getting battered, especially at those high tides.We had hurricane-generated swells and high tides, and the combination was extremely damaging to these homes,” said Jonathan Warrick, research geologist with the U.S.

Geological Survey.“When the water level is extra high, a foot or more higher than we expect it to be, then it can really wreak havoc.”As it stands, the Golden State has already experienced about a foot of sea level rise over the past 125 years from human-caused global warming and the melting of the polar ice caps.

And lately, the state has also seen abnormally high...