City officials said San Francisco is experiencing abnormally high tides due to the upcoming El Niño season.
Seawater cut off access to parts of San Francisco's Embarcadero on Oct. 27, 2026, after abnormally high tides. Seawater cut off access to parts of the Embarcadero on Oct. 27, 2026, after abnormally high tides. (José Velasquez/KQED)
The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood advisory for low-lying regions across the Bay Area on Tuesday.
Tides peaked at 2.1 feet above normal and are expected to reach above 1.9 feet above normal on Wednesday, according to the NWS Bay Area’s daily forecast discussion.
The worst flooding from the high tides is expected along bayshore Marin County, with NWS noting numerous reports of flooding coming in over the last few days.
Along the Embarcadero in San Francisco, residents stopped by caution tape to photograph the flooding, which forced the city to close part of the sidewalk and the bike lane.
Eric Young, a spokesperson for the Port of San Francisco, said the city is experiencing abnormally high tides due to the upcoming El Niño.
“What happens with El Niño is there’s a warming trend in the water,” Young said. “That leads to tides being a foot or more higher than they normally are on average at this time of year.”
Experts believe the upcoming El Niño will be historic, and likely to produce torrential downpours, flooding, temporarily elevated sea levels, severe thunderstorms and even isolated tornadoes this winter.