Thousands of tiny crabs invade Orange County beaches

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Hundreds of crabs cover the sand at an Orange County beach on Saturday, May 14, 2016.
Hundreds of crabs cover the sand at an Orange County beach on Saturday, May 14, 2016.
KABC-KABC

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Hundreds of thousands of the tiny crabs have been washing ashore on Orange County beaches.

Rivers of red crabs were spotted on the sand in Huntington Beach on Saturday.

Experts say the sea creatures, which are around 1 to 3 inches tall, come from Baja California and have rarely been seen in Southern California.

Warm El Nino ocean currents may have brought the crabs farther north, where they collide with colder water and then die off.