Daniel L. Swain

Now, in Southern California, record high tides also flooded coastal communities.

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain says the primary factor for California's flooding is the extreme El Nino in the Pacific Ocean, on top of long-term sea level rise and king tides.

Experts say high tide flooding will worsen over the winter months, with multiple king tides hitting both coasts, providing us all a preview of the very tough challenges ahead as sea levels rise due to man-made global warming.

Yeah, I guess some of those folks who have...

California faces January through March storms that could dump three to four years of rain in one season, with ocean temperatures 10 degrees above normal, feeding atmospheric rivers.

Climate scientist Daniel Swain called those sea temperatures record-shattering for the state.

And remember, this is the winter Trump chose to gut the Weather Service.

Cheap water is over.

And now that there's weather here.

Daniel Swain, who is a climate scientist at UCLA, he does a podcast called Weather West.

And for anyone who wants to understand the big picture of the weather, you explained to me when you were here before that it is actually complex here.

There's five distinct weather climates.

Now, in Southern California, record high tides also flooded coastal communities.

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain says the primary factor for California's flooding is the extreme El Nino in the Pacific Ocean on top of long-term sea level rise and king tides.

Experts say high tide flooding will worsen over the winter months with multiple king tides hitting both coasts, providing us all a preview of the very tough challenges ahead as sea levels rise due to man-made global warming.

Yeah, and I guess some of those folks who have beautiful homes on the coast are probably going to have to be rethinking that decision soon.

I'm Beth Ruriak.

My guest today is Dr. Daniel Swain, an expert in extreme weather events and how they affect people.

Dr. Swain is a climate scientist and a researcher in high demand, especially this year.

He'll talk with me about the politics of El Nino.

This is the California Politics Podcast from the LA Times Studio.

Welcome to the California Politics Podcast in the LA Times studios in Sacramento.

I'm Beth Ruriak and joining us from Boulder, Colorado is Daniel Swain, PhD.

He is a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

But as winter approaches, experts say Kelvin waves could compound with other natural phenomena to temporarily raise sea levels up by two feet, causing dramatic problems with flooding and erosion, threatening beaches and coastal homes.

Across California, hundreds of thousands of people could potentially be inundated At some point this winter, due to rising sea levels, Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, told USA Today.

There could be as much as two feet of elevated sea level, he said, which he called pretty significant.

This is true for both southern and northern California, including the San Francisco Bay Area.