NASA analysis finds that a strong El Niño could result in up to five instances of a type of flooding called a 10-year flood event this winter in cities including Seattle and San Diego
by Wagamaga
NASA analysis finds that a strong El Niño could result in up to five instances of a type of flooding called a 10-year flood event this winter in cities including Seattle and San Diego
by Wagamaga
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El Niño is a periodic climate phenomenon characterized by higher-than-normal sea levels and warmer-than-average ocean temperatures along the equatorial Pacific. These conditions can spread poleward along the western coasts of the Americas. El Niño, which is still developing this year, can bring more rain than usual to the U.S. Southwest and drought to countries in the western Pacific like Indonesia. These impacts typically occur in January through March.
The NASA analysis finds that a strong El Niño could result in up to five instances of a type of flooding called a 10-year flood event this winter in cities including Seattle and San Diego. Places like La Libertad and Baltra in Ecuador could get up to three of these 10-year flood events this winter. This type of flooding doesn’t normally occur along the west coast of the Americas outside of El Niño years. The researchers note that by the 2030s, rising seas and climate change could result in these cities experiencing similar numbers of 10-year floods annually, with no El Niño required.
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[https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/san-francisco-bay-shoreline-18473194.php](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/san-francisco-bay-shoreline-18473194.php)
But Harper, this week, did say that the Corps is using five sea level rise projections that range from conservative to aggressive — but all extend out more than a century, to 2140.
Those estimates push beyond the 2100 end point of the most widely accepted scientific models. The California Ocean Protection Council, for instance, has an upper range scientifically vetted estimate of tides climbing 7 feet by 2100.