California’s ‘record-shattering’ marine heat wave means threat of coastal flooding will stick around

Learn more about what El Niño means for Long Beach and how you can be prepared at LBPost.com/elnino. Support useful, community-centered reporting like this with a donation. This article was originally published by LAist on Nov. 12, 2026. Topline: El Niño is making the California coast much warmer than usual, and scientists are concerned about coastal flooding. Unseasonably warm waters: The ocean temperatures along a stretch of coast from Sonoma County down to Ensenada, Mexico, are 10 degrees warmer than average. In a webinar Thursday, University of California climate scientist Daniel Swain stressed how unusual the current heat wave is, describing it as “mind-boggling” and “record-shattering.” “I’m using all the superlatives in the book because I think they’re appropriate,” Swain said. Exceeding records: The water temperatures in nearly every location are higher than any measured during the cold season in recorded history.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.