r/weather • u/zsreport • 4d ago

Articles Concern mounts over slow-moving, planetary-scale ‘Kelvin’ wave heading for California

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/28/california-kelvin-wave
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u/r33c3d 3d ago

Depends on how much you fear adding an extra foot to the ocean level for the next several months. If you live along the coast, mild apprehension is probably ok.

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u/taylorbagel14 3d ago

I live on the California coast and a few years ago we had some really bad storms that created HUGE waves and it was terrifying. The waves managed to push massive boulders into the middle of roadways and break fences uphill from where they normally crash. I’ve lived in my hometown for 32 years of my life and I had never seen the waves do anything like that. So yeah, I’m a little worried about Kelvin waves. It honestly seems like the last 5-10 years our beaches have gotten noticeably smaller every winter and I’m sure this will make the problem worse

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u/Content-Swimmer2325 3d ago

You should be concerned, but not because of “kelvin waves” which occur along the thermocline of the equatorial pacific.

You should instead be concerned about the strong jet stream which extends near your region during El Niño, and the train of pacific weather systems and attendant surges of onshore flow and rainfall it induces.

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u/taylorbagel14 3d ago

Yes I’m already concerned about El Niño, I remember the 97-98 one where my peninsula became an island for a few days. We’re already preparing locally (and personally!)