El Niño’s Dreaded ‘Kelvin Wave’ Is About to Hit California

Southern California communities such as Malibu, Long Beach, and San Clemente are watching their beaches disappear. In recent years, rising sea levels have swallowed huge chunks of the coastline, threatening waterfront homes. Now, an El Niño-driven phenomenon is expected to make this situation even worse.

During El Niño, winds that normally blow east to west along the equator weaken and periodically reverse, creating westerly wind bursts that set off oceanic Kelvin waves. These massive, slow-moving pulses of warm water travel…