Unusually high tides have been spilling onto San Francisco's Embarcadero, and officials warn worse is possible when winter storms line up with the year's biggest tides.
Why it matters: The Embarcadero near the Ferry Building and Pier 14 is among the city's most vulnerable waterfront areas and includes "critical" infrastructure like BART and Muni, Port of San Francisco spokesperson Eric Young told Axios.
By the numbers
- San Francisco's average sea level ran 12.4 inches above NOAA predictions in October, the largest monthly gap on record, per Axios.
- On Oct. 25, high tides flooded parts of the Embarcadero near Pier 14.
- El Niño-driven Kelvin waves can temporarily raise West Coast sea levels by 6 to 12 inches or more, NOAA said.
What's next
NOAA predicts above-normal high tides Nov. 22-27 and Dec. 22-26. A National Weather Service coastal flood advisory for the San Francisco Bay shoreline runs until 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, with high tides about 1.5 feet above normal Monday and Tuesday.
The Port will install temporary flood barriers at four waterfront locations. Longer term, construction on the Downtown Coastal Resilience project is expected to start in 2029. Young said 100 to 500 structures could be vulnerable by 2050, with potential damages reaching $23 billion by 2140.
Related: This week's Bay Area forecast.