According to NASA, cities along the western coast could see an increase in the frequency of high-tide flooding, which could swamp roads and spill into buildings.
The impacts of El Niño typically occur from January through March.
Strong El Niño could bring more high-tide flooding to SoCal this winter, NASA says
The NASA analysis finds that a strong El Niño this winter could result in up to five instances of a type of flooding researchers call "a 10-year flood event" in cities like Seattle and San Diego.
This type of flooding doesn't normally happen along the U.S. west coast outside of El Niño years.
"I'm a little surprised that the analysis found these 10-year events could become commonplace so quickly," said Phil Thompson, a member of NASA's sea level change science team, in an article published on NASA's website. "I would have thought maybe by the 2040s or 2050s."
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Ten-year floods are those that have a one in 10 chance of occurring in any given year.
To read more on NASA's analysis, click here.