After the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel damaged coastal homes in Long Beach and caused flooding and debris flows in the Coachella Valley, National Weather Service forecasters predict the worst is over for Southern California — but threats remain for communities along the coast.
Wind advisories in the inland deserts were set to expire early Monday morning. Coastal flood advisories from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, however, remain in effect, with two more rounds of potentially destructive high tides forecast for Monday and Tuesday morning.
Currently, the most extreme high tides occur between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., with milder secondary high tides between 11 p.m. and midnight. Although the weekend’s morning high tides were classified as minor flooding, the overnight high tides were not.
Preliminary readings near Long Beach measured Sunday morning’s tide at about 7.6 feet. Weather service forecasters predicted morning tides Monday and Tuesday would reach about 7.5 feet.
Coastal flooding advisories farther north in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties extend through high tide Monday morning. Advisories further south, from San Diego to Ventura, extend through Tuesday.
The weather service warned that additional isolated damage was possible but unlikely. Beach erosion and flooding of parking lots and beach paths are likely.
Threats also remain from strong rip currents and large waves, which increase the risk of drowning in the ocean and could threaten to capsize small boats near shore. On Sunday morning, a man died on Dockweiler Beach and authorities were investigating whether he drowned due to the storm.
The overall softening of forecasts comes as the extent of coastal damage remains lower than some officials feared.
The impacts were severe for some homes on the Long Beach Peninsula, with the storm washing away part of the historic boardwalk and damaging several homes. But in Newport Beach, officials said the city has so far avoided major damage and flooding after working around the clock to shore up the berms.
Experts attribute the extremely warm ocean temperatures that fueled Rachel, which peaked as a Category 3 hurricane, in part to El Niño. UC Agriculture and Natural Resources climatologist Daniel Swain also blamed a months-long marine heatwave preceding El Niño, as well as human-caused climate change.
Although Rachel is only the second time in history that Southern California has received a tropical storm watch, Swain said during a recent webinar that it’s possible the region could see another tropical storm before the end of the hurricane season.
“It’s getting a little late, but the ocean is so warm that we can’t rule out other tropical impacts in late October, maybe even early November,” he said.
Beyond hurricanes, El Niño is already raising sea levels, increasing the likelihood that California will experience a particularly wet winter.
Tropical Storm Rachel, for example, brought more than 6 inches of rain to parts of San Diego County and more than 2 inches of rain to some mountains of Los Angeles County over the weekend, according to preliminary data released Monday by the National Weather Service.
But looking ahead, the National Weather Service predicts that Southern California will move to the other side of the spectrum by the end of the week: High temperatures, dry air and some of the first Santa Ana winds of the season are expected, leading to increased potential for wildfires.
The fires are expected to start Thursday and last until Saturday.
Gn usa
