A lone windsurfer in Chula Vista takes advantage of the high winds that arrived with tropical storm Hilary on Aug. 20.
(Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Pacific Ocean temperatures are rising; National Weather Service says there is a 66 percent of a ‘strong’ event this winter
San Diego County’s fragile shoreline and vulnerable beachfront properties could be in for a rough winter, according to the California Coastal Commission, the National Weather Service and some top San Diego scientists.
“We are looking at an emerging El Niño event,” staff geologist Joseph Street told the Coastal Commission at its meeting Wednesday in Eureka.
An El Niño is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs every two to seven years. The water temperature at the surface of the Central Pacific Ocean along the equator warms a few degrees above its long-term average, creating conditions for stronger, more frequent seasonal storms across much of the globe.
Advertising